The Cross of Mithras Vol. 1: EOD Operation Welcome to Hell (111 page)

  Vaistll for the first time ever realized how dire the situation was and it was only going to get worse. It was at this point in time that she finally realized that she need to retire from service and this world had given her the chance to be with her people. But she must fight tooth-and-nail for it and possibly even die for it. And if she survives than she
must
find someone and settle down. It is Lenkov and Omori’s love for each other that convince her of that. They finally gave her hope in finding someone special. For centuries she thought that she will die alone and now… she has hope. And that is something worth fighting for. Not only for her, but for everyone on that world. A better tomorrow awaits for everyone, if only they could win for today.

(8)

  Deathcore, a ultra secretive military unit that was created by the EOD High Command, arrived at N-Reserve bringing with them what was left of High Command. They came there for two reasons: one, because the EOD would be focused upon Golden Hyperion (the situation concerning Task Force ZH-3C was resolved); and two, they had a secret facility there that they had not let told the Council about (they were about to, but something more serious came up). From this one single facility what was the formally known EOD High Command could plot their next move. Allowing both the Founder and the Council to think that High Command is no more (and staying under the radar) would give them the chance to regroup, rebuild,  rethink, and most importantly, assist those who are the enemies of the EOD. Despite that, they will always stay true (to some degree) to what it meant to have been part of the EOD believing that they truly represented it’s goals. They would in due time rename themselves Deathcore in honor of the team that they created.

  When High Command created Deathcore what they wanted was something that was in effect the personification of the EOD. They wanted clones not people, people not monsters nor cyborgs. They turned to the EOD DNA database (which is as old as the EOD itself) and look for the very best of the very best. They then did extensive research in cloning to make absolutely certain that these clones will have no genetic flaws. Only the very best technology will do in their creation. They also turned to the animal kingdom on Earth for the very best traits. Showing the human race superiority over all others. They wanted to rendered the classical EOD monsters and cyborgs obsolete.

  When the EOD High Command was liquidated it was Deathcore that learned that it had nothing to do with their creation. They were the ones who risk so much to save so many. It was Deathcore that came up with the idea to head to Golden Hyperion. They secured the ships, they secured the passage, they were the ones who help the ships to make the travel without being detected. They did it all. Deathcore created within the minds of the survivors that all along within the EOD, the very people to whom the EOD dismissed, the ones who suffered the most, the ones who had their careers ruined, the ones who were murdered,
were
the very best of the very best. But the records that could have confirmed that was destroyed and, in due time, it will become the culture of the survivors to believe it anyways.

  Each member of Deathcore had a minimum IQ of 200 with some even possessing an off-the-chart IQ. This gave them a huge tactical and strategic advantage in all that they did. It is indeed true that at times the EOD wanted to create something close to Deathcore but they consistently failed. Technology was, more often than not, the sole reason why they failed. It was something within the EOD (namely the Founder) that was attracted to the idea of using monsters and cyborgs, not clones. Some even argued that if the EOD went the pathway of being more reliant upon clones, instead of monsters and cyborgs, humanity would in effect be under their absolute control. But as the EOD became bigger and far more complex it allowed it to become more open to newer ideas that normally would have been suppressed. But, of course, it was always the Founder who ultimately determined whether or not the idea would be beneficial to the EOD. Guess which way he leaned.

  Although the Founder’s wife was just as equally as bad as he was, there were times in which she gave the appearance that she cared far more about the EOD than he did. Typically she always sided with the Council, so much so that she became the personification of them and vice versa. To High Command it was nothing more than lovers tit-for-tat. That was always the case until it started to become apparent to them that a rift was starting to develop between the two. Rumors abound within the Council that the Founder secretively had his wife changed into Medusa Pandora as a way to maintain greater control of the EOD. But there was no evidence to back that up. There was some evidence to suggest that’s what she wanted, to become Medusa Pandora (without a doubt she came up with the name), but the Council for whatever reason suppress that information. In time, High Command started to read the writing on the wall. This lover tit-for-tat had the potential to create a civil war between the supporters of both the Founder and that of the Council. It was during this time period that High Command decided to come up with Deathcore. There was some evidence that some within High Command discovered that led to the conclusion that either the Founder and/or the Council had High Command liquidated because they were in a conspiracy with some unknown extraterrestrial race. Needless to say, bad blood was starting to develop between High Command versus the Founder versus the Council.

  Lenkov and Omori knew that when it comes to joining the EOD you need to do a running trophy for the exit. Meaning: no matter how ambitious you are, you must first show that ambition, collect your medals, then have some sort of exit strategy. Hence, why they always kept both The Hammer of Doom and Andromeda a secret. As time went by more and more individuals within High Command started to understand the same thing. And that made High Command less efficient, more of a careerist, and less concerned for the functionality of High Command. It’s not surprising that the loyalties within High Command started to wane near the end.

  With the EOD being more preoccupied with other parts of the solar system and thinking that nothing is going on N-Reserve, it gave Deathcore a chance to become the “secret hand” that propped up any all resistance in the area. They wanted the EOD to be bogged down, they wanted them to stay focused on the system, they wanted the system to become symbolic of resistance. Although things didn’t turn out quite the way in which they plan it still had a favorable outcome. The ties that bound High Command to the Founder and to the Council was broken with the liquidation of High Command. But at the time those same ties were showing strain between all three. The EOD had been at that same crossroads at least on three occasions, but never at the liquidation of one or the other three parts. Deathcore wanted those strained ties broken before it was too late.

  Deathcore knew that it would be a matter of time before either the Founder or the Council would find out the truth. But they will use that to their advantage. They plot and plan their own demise as well as their salvation. Although they will not last more than a hundred years, Deathcore ultimate legacy is one that spelled the final rift between the forces loyal to the Founder and that of the Council. In effect, it meant end of the EOD as a united force. Their salvation as they had plan it led them to eventually find a world to call a home and build a new world. They will become a forgotten community, a forgotten legacy that assisted others at significantly reducing the power of the most evil institution that mankind has ever yet to have known. But they would have it no other way.

(9)

  The dropship carrying both Colonel McIntyre and Mad Dawg just left the small town of Fort Conti and they were quite pleased with the success of their “mission.” They did not have much to talk about with each other. They were just too busy reflecting on their visit to see an old “friend.” It’s been seven years since Mad Dawg seen him and nine with McIntyre. They had no idea what to expect from their visit when they first arrived. Especially since this so-called friend was a former EOD general. The very one that Mad Dawg encountered and was almost defeated by him. McIntyre wasn’t so lucky when he first ran across him. Commodore Parker came within an ace of encountering him back when he was a Fleet Captain. He was indeed one formidable general the stuff that legends are made of. Which made his fall from grace all the more spectacular and bitter sweet. And it began when he met Mad Dawg on the battlefield on that cold rainy day.

  Nobody, not even Mad Dawg himself, would ever think that Mad Dawg was responsible for that fall from grace. Instead it was the EOD themselves that was responsible. Or rather it was High Command that was. When General Julius Howell III on that fateful battlefield requested all the support he needed to begin construction of an airfield the incompetence of High Command became apparent very fast. He knew that time was against him and was with Mad Dawg but still, High Command would not bulge. It was apparent from the get-go that he will not receive any support. He first sent in his robotic military to lighten the load. Although it was they who came within an ace of destroying Mad Dawg’s base, the General thought wrongly that EOD High Command, motivated by the significance of the family name, would offer help. But none ever came.

  That family name, over the course of time, became synonymous with the creation and maintaining the legacy of the EOD. So much so that one could say that Jason M. Idelle may be the founder, but it was a Howell that truly created the EOD. The very first Howell in the EOD was a member of the Council but strangely, that was the last time that a Howell was a member of that body. Instead they ended up in the science and/or military divisions. But in all cases they excelled at what they did. Which became all the more strange that such a distinguish family name should see itself on the wane. Julius Howell III is 125 years old and, not only is he the last of the Howells, but he never produced any children. Yes he has a wife, and yes they have been married for a very long time (she is his first and only wife), but the two of them should have been able to have produced children. The family dynasty dies with him and nobody knows why. Colonel McIntyre and Mad Dawg on their visit would learn the reason and it would shock them both and leave them speechless.

  The family has always been the most patriotic and the most treasonous of them all. For they always knew that it was the Founder and his wife that would ultimately bring the EOD to ruin. They saw the potential within the EOD (minus the name) to unite the human race into one single powerful force, and either the Founder and/or his wife made certain that only conflict, divisions and more would be all that the human race should know. The family knew how to beat the EOD at their own game. And they played it well. A little too well.

  The EOD has a secret method for determining a person loyalties. And it is designed to entrap people. The more you express your loyalty the more the EOD becomes suspicious. If you are a blind patriot than you are nothing more than cannon fodder. Traitors are liquidated. Question the EOD authority one too many times, you could be a traitor. If you are confused than you need to be mentally reconditioned. If it all makes sense than you are an idiot. If you want in than you are a spy. If you are not suspicious of others than others should be suspicious of you. And so on. It was all designed to control people and not to find out your real loyalties. You can only be all of the above, none of the above, or one of the above. There is no other option.

  It was Cynthia Amber Idelle, the Founder’s wife, who came up with that absurdity. He, however, fell in love with the idea. But to the Howell family it turned each member into both the most loyal patriot, and the most treasonous one. They may have waited for the natural death of both the Founder and his wife, but in the end they had to accept the fact that will never occur. Some submitted to the will of the EOD but it was those brave few who, although they will not receive any credit for it, indirectly helped the resistance against the EOD to continue. Without them it is quite plausible that the EOD could have crushed all opposition against it.

  The Idelle family was no fool however, nor an idiot. But they were too blinded by power to see the real traitors. Those who stroke their egos, but not to over do it, must be loyal. If you advanced their agendas, but show reasonable resistance within the context of the EOD mind control techniques, then you must be a true patriot. It is true that Mr. and Mrs. Idelle had descendants, but power-hunger, back-stabbing, ruthlessness, corruption, greed, and vice made it too easy to thin out their numbers. In the end the family, like the Howells, was reduced to two. Yes there was those within the Idelle family who suspected the Howells, and they will used their power against them, but in the end nothing will come of it. Neither family wanted a war between the two. So the status quo will be maintain until one family gets the upper hand and could eliminate the other one. And so, the struggle within the EOD was always between two families. The ones that founded the EOD, versus the ones that made it what it is.

  Both Mad Dawg and McIntyre was hoping for that their old “friend” would assist them in protecting Golden Hyperion from an EOD experiment gone horribly wrong and is threatening that world. What they got in return is something that they could never have imagine in their wildest dreams. Not only would he assist them, but he was going to give them the history of his family struggle within the EOD and all the Intel that he has to assist those who wish to resist the evil of the EOD. It was far more than enough to bring the Idelle family to it’s knees. It truly marked the beginning of the end of the EOD. It was the one thing that everyone needed to lift their spirits, especially when they learn what was giving Solaris so much grief.