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

by Douglas Howell

  (16)

  Claire Daniel called a press conference long before the mayor did. What went on within the swamps was already resolved by this time. The docks were on the verge of being lost. At the exact time that Claire was giving her speech the Demon Cy-Xs were on the verge of entering the docks. The fate of the city and the people now rests upon Claire and her speech. Yes the mayor was watching it, but from the comfort of her home far from danger. What the mayor wanted, she did not get. Instead of hearing Claire give the mayor what she wanted to hear, Claire gave the mayor an earful.

  “I come here today, not as a criminal as the mayor would have you to believe, but as a private citizen who is within her legal rights. Do any of you seriously believe that I, with a family, who’s record is there for all to see, a record that shows that I serve with honor and distinction, would risk everything as the mayor would have you to believe? Please, I beg of you, as a mother and as a wife, one who serve her community with distinction, I beg of you to open your hearts and eyes and trust me. Me and my husband would die for you, for this community. If you don’t believe me then answer me this: where is my husband and where is the mayor? How far away is the mayor’s home, and how far away is both mine and my husband? Yes I know that the mayor may use the argument that she is busy coordinating the appropriate authorities for the continual defense of the community. But answer me this, why is that all of those individuals, including my husband, chooses to be here and not in their luxury mansion? Oh, I forgot… I meant to say the same type of homes that you live in and not some luxury mansion. Rather they choose to leave those home and come to where the mayor cannot. Or dare I say, too afraid to. If my husband is to die then I choose to die with him. I know that may sound selfish of me when I, like you, have children. Children that we both love with all of our hearts and soul as I can imagine you do as well. But I know that many of you will lose your children. Some of you your whole family. I weep for you if that’s the case. I cannot imagine, nor shall I, the grief that you must feel. For those of you who chooses to fight, and if necessary to die with your family, then you can imagine why I am here and my children is not. For ultimately that is what it all comes down to, the sacrifice that each and every community must chose to make. I know that by being here… I… that I may die here. But at least I die with honor. So… what say you? What say the mayor? Let me tell you if, god forbids if, we shall fail… then who will be safe upon this world. But nobody. Nobody.”

  It didn’t take that long for the people to learn the fate of those who stood their ground in the swamps. That, combined with Claire’s speech, turned the public against the mayor. It was the media, however, who turned on the mayor first. They had people in the docks. They had to witness the horror of the loss of their own people. They saw the horror of the live footage and had to edit it for viewer ship. Seeing the loss of their friends right before their eyes. The mayor however did have a speech prepared, but it was Claire’s speech that delayed it. Seeing what the media was reporting on her, forced the mayor to abandoned her speech in favor of an off-the-collar speech. She, after all, had no other choice. But her speech, all in an effort to salvage her career, backfired on her. It made her look like she was out of touch with the people.

  (17)

  “All loose ends have been eliminated. What are my orders?” The assassin informed his boss.

  “Me and my comrades are going into retirement. You will be well rewarded.”

  “Understood sir.”

  A secret cabal have always existed within the EOD Council and they always perceived themselves to be the fulcrum in that body. This is primarily due to the “war” that always existed between the Founder and his wife. Both were willing to use the resources of the EOD (including lives) in this so-called war. At times to the detriment of the security of the EOD. Mostly it was just a waste of resources and lives. But it was this fulcrum that struck some type of balance, never allowing either side to gain the upper hand. Neither the Founder nor his wife really cared that this fulcrum existed. They just wanted it to stay an absolute secret. But within the last fifteen years this rivalry has reached the boiling point. It told those within that fulcrum they all need to fold and go into retirement. But first they needed to get rid of all of their loose ends. Unlike the Founder and his wife, they were thinking about the “good” of the EOD. (As well as their own hides. Besides, it might tip the enemy off to who they are.)

  What this fulcrum decided to do was to send all loose ends to Golden Hyperion so that they could be eliminated without arousing suspicion. With William M. Shackley they knew that he was having an affair and that his wife was becoming emotionally unhinged by it. She could be persuaded to lead him (and unbeknownst to her), and herself, to their deaths. Another loose end that needs to be mentioned is, of course, the mayor of Aruka.

  With her career in ruins, and the threat of the city fixing to be overrun by Demon Cy-Xs, the mayor boarded a helicopter. Her destination was near the pier. When she arrived she was told that the boat had no other choice but to dock further away - much deeper into the docks. With Demon Cy-Xs here and there she had no other choice but to run hither and thither. As for the helicopter? A malfunction made certain that it will not be able to lift off. It was only a matter of time before it happens. That she will be overrun and eaten by Demon Cy-Xs.

  (18)

  “Just call me Officer Jack.” The police officer told the militias and those civilians with him. It was all that anybody ever knew of him. But it was he who would ultimately save all of their lives. Nobody else who was at the docks would be as successful as he was. Yes there would be people who managed to escape, but since the docks were at a tip of a peninsula it made escape difficult. It was Officer Jack who, instead of using force against an unarmed assailant, he use the method of: track, observe, avoid, and collect valuable Intel. Those who did not do that (or think that bullets could stop them) learn the hard way a wounded beast can be as equally as dangerous as one who isn’t wounded and is starving. Because Officer Jack collected Intel upon them (including video) it allowed others to ascertain the situation that must have occurred at the cloning vats. It told them that it needed further investigation. As luck would have it The Hammer of Doom sensors were fully operational and what it detected was the new enemy. Everyone who analyze the data knew that Captain Dawson must be to blame. But nobody knew how he could be responsible for the creation of this new monster. This is the reason why 1st Lieutenant Illes was sent there in the first place.

  (19)

  The artillery barrage of the Arukan docks finally came to an end only because they ran out of shells. The docks were destroyed including any ships that were docked. Some of the high rises were reduced to rubble in an effort to hit anything that was too near the docks. The only thing that the defenders of Aruka knew is that the Demon Cy-Xs were “at the docks.” The person at the other end of the radio call never mentioned precisely where the Demon Cy-Xs were. For the peninsula that the docks were on, it was hit randomly (the mayor’s lifeless body survived that bombardment) in an effort to make certain that maybe, just maybe, a few of the Demon Cy-Xs were hit (only a few were). A battle line outside of the peninsula was formed. Buildings, APCs, tanks, barricades, snipers, police, PDF and the militias, was the only line of defense for the city. Leon, Claire and Officer Jack was in the center within the command post. They all knew one thing – it’s not that easy to take down one single Demon Cy-X even if they are unarmed. But they also knew that this, hopefully, will be the last of them.

  The first attack from the Demon Cy-Xs came on the defenders left flank. After twenty minutes they finally overrun the defenders position. The Demon Cy-Xs then attempted to swoop around to attack the defenders right flank. Although it failed to achieve much, it did weakened the defenders right flank, the only good news is that all the Demon Cy-Xs who made the attack (along with most who were still in the city) were wiped out. The next wave, although a small one, was just nothing more then the Demon Cy-Xs probing the defenders po
sition. (By the end of it all those who were still in the city were finally wiped out.) The next wave hit the center flank very hard. A long and very bitter battle ensued in which the center finally collapsed. Unfortunately, Officer Jack died in the attack. He was in a APC that was overrun. While the Demon Cy-Xs were around it (with some trying to get in), instead of driving off, he decided to blow it up killing himself and seriously injuring those Demon Cy-Xs that were near. Those that were left was gunned down by the retreating defenders. One group of militias then did a counter-attack and drove off the rest of the Demon Cy-Xs. The final wave came up through the center, killed all the militias who counter-attacked the previous wave, split up, with one group taking on targets of opportunity, and the rest trying to take out the command post. At one point a very large (possibly a mutated one [the locals called it a “king”]) Demon Cy-X, seriously wounded, let out a earth shattering howl and then all the Demon Cy-Xs throughout the city converged at the command post. It was finally over when the Demon Cy-Xs took over roughly 75% of the high rise building.

  Although it was over, the price for the defenders was severe. Maybe a little too severe. There was too much damage to the downtown part of the city, too many people fled with most never returning, the lost of life was too high, and worst of all – both Leon and Claire died defending the command post. (Critically wounded, they both died in each others arms on the rooftop. [Leon was wounded when a Demon Cy-X threw a hand grenade and Claire was wounded when, running to him, a Demon Cy-X shot her with someone’s rifle.]) The city of Aruka was no more and those who came back will not stay for long. And the only good news for everyone on Golden Hyperion was that upon that world – the Demon Cy-Xs are extinct.

  (20)

  A rare EOD mass robotic transport fleet has finally reach what they thought was a safety zone. These type of vessels are designed in such a way that they could connect to one another on top, bottom, bow or stern so that they could travel in a 3-D format. This particular group was 4x4x10 and like all other type of this class they were guarded by four destroyers and two cruisers each of which were specially designed for these type of ships. (The humans were on the destroyers and cruisers.) The EOD had only six of these fleets and not once had they ever lost one. But with this particular fleet someone wanted it destroyed very badly. It’s not like nobody ever tried that before, but this time it’s different. Whoever it is must have had help from within the EOD High Command. Because these robotic transport fleet can travel conjoined, it allows them to extend their shields over each other and therefore create a “super-shield.” And that is the sole reason why none were ever lost. But whoever is orchestrating this attack knew how to by-pass the defensive shielding, and that could only come from within.

  This particular RTF was forced to turn around after they learned the fate of the EOD High Command. The confusion that all of them felt was far more than all of them could ever endure. For what they had within their cargo-hold was beyond top secret and therefore it was more important than their lives. But none of them knew what it was. But whatever it was, someone determined that the monstrosity shall be the only thing within the nightmare of all those who happened to know, by shear chance, what it could possibly be. And what it was, it was the nightmare between the Founder and his wife. The supporters of the Founder’s wife found an ET race and persuaded them to attack the EOD High Command. This was a vain attempt to trick the Founder (or his supporters) to indirectly to reveal the location of the Founder’s wife. But it backfired and the Founder had the entire EOD High Command liquidated. It was the worst lover’s tit-for-tat between the two since the founding of the EOD ever.

  Although this particular RTF wasn’t a partisan of the Founder’s wife (none were [of either one]) it was treated as if it was. Because of the paranoia of the Founder and/or his followers all of the RTF’s were treated as a enemy regardless of which side they were on. Although a classic hallmark of the Founder and his followers, their paranoia pushed everyone within the RTF crew into the arms of those who were rebelling against the Founder and/or his followers. So why would the Founder and/or his followers believe that the RTF’s were a partisan of his wife when historically they are not? Because they are under the auspices of the EOD High Command and the EOD High Command is a partisan of the Founder’s wife.

  RTF’s typically don’t carry anything that could be classified as Top Secret. So why would anybody want to attack one? Why would the EOD go to so much trouble to protect the convoy if it has nothing of value? To answer the first question: there is no reason. It’s not practical given the defenses that are used to protect the convoy. To answer the second question: the RTF represent the transportation hub of the EOD nexus of supply chain within the EOD Command & Control security apparatus. It is obvious why the EOD would try so hard to protect them.

  The attack upon the RTF’s was an orchestrated assault that was ordered by the fulcrum within the EOD Council. The purpose of the assault was to knock out the EOD Command & Control security apparatus in an effort to paralyze the Founder and his supporters from launching a counter offensive in a effort to liquidate all loose ends within the EOD. Namely the Council. Although the fulcrum real aim was to take down the Founder and his wife (including their supporters) so that they could ultimately take over, they seriously underestimated all resistance against the EOD. What’s more, there was a rift between the “young” members of the fulcrum and the old. The old only wanted to go into retirement while the young ones did not. And thus the young ones was far more motivated by revenge and the lost of the opportunities by being a member of the Council than that of the desire to strike a balance within the empire of the EOD.

  Given the miscalculation within the fulcrum concerning all resistance against the EOD, combined with their own arrogance, it’s not surprising that their plan would not go precisely the way in which they planned. What they wanted was to allow the Founder and his wife to eliminate one another or to so badly weaken one another that when the fulcrum decides to take over it would be a breeze. They also seriously overestimated their own power. Thinking that everybody would rally around them as opposed to that it would lead to further rebellion against the EOD. Or that if there were any rebellion that it would be a cake walk in crushing it. That may have been true in the past but those rebellions never occurred after a major civil war. When it became obvious to the fulcrum that the Council will never be able to take over, combined with the Founder’s increasing paranoia, the young guns within the fulcrum became ever the more vindictive.

  The EOD High Command had two parts to it: the lower (which is what that ET race attacked) and the upper. (Neither is given a name nor are they in the same location.) When the Founder had the upper part of EOD High Command liquidated the Council felt threaten because that part of High Command is one rank below the Council. That was primarily the reason why the fulcrum wanted to hurry up and go into retirement. Yes the Founder attempted to blame that ET race (nobody believed him) and to then to declare war upon them, but without the EOD High Command, for the first time in it’s history, the EOD finally lost a war. But what really pissed everyone off is the fact that the Founder consolidated his power and not to rebuild High Command. When the remnants of High Command learned where the Founder’s wife was, and the Founder made no effort to rescue her, and she was turned into Medusa Pandora (what they mistakenly thought was against her wishes), and then she’d died, they decided to use all of their connections to start the first major civil war within the EOD.

  After the civil war was over the old guard within the fulcrum left. It is at that point that the young guns decided to plan for the second civil war. But they however, will not be the leaders of that civil war since they will go into retirement. That civil war between the Founder and the Council turned out to be the most brutal devastating war in the entire EOD history. It effectually broke the EOD. Did the Founder rebuild the Council after his victory? Of course not. Why would he? By that point in time his paranoia driven him into complete insanity. It a
lso made the final civil war inevitable and that civil war finally defeated the Founder. With the death of the Founder, the lost of both the Council and High Command, external pressure from all of it’s enemies looking for some payback, there was nothing to stop the EOD from fracturing into many splinter groups all vying for supremacy. It effectually meant the death of the EOD.

  Any celebrations were short lived given the power vacuum that develop in the aftermath of the fall of the EOD. Worse still was the fact that humanity was pushed to the brink of extinction. For all the evil and darkness of the EOD it did the dirty work and help humanity to survive for the EOD never wanted the human race to go extinct, it just wanted to exist in the shadow and control the human race. It’s the primary reason why they never allow there to be a robotic take over. And so with the fall of the EOD humanity must look to another to save it from those who desire to drive the human race into extinction. So who would it turn to?

  The RTF that turned away from the EOD High Command had to go to Golden Hyperion since, not only is The Hammer of Doom there, but also because it’s nearer. And what it was carrying would allow the people of Golden Hyperion a fighting chance to become a major power. But winning over the crew will not be easy since the crews of the RTF’s are chosen for the their hyper loyalties more than their skills. And they would arrive at the worst possible time.

  (21)

  “Sir, the situation at Aruka has been resolved. It also appears that the Demon Cy-Xs have been wiped out of existence.” Captain Maxwell informed Solaris.

  “What about The Hammer of Doom?”