The Cross of Mithras Vol. 1: EOD Operation Welcome to Hell (145 page)

  “Let’s get to the monorail!” Taylor shouted out.

(2)

  “Hey Wilcox. Where are you?” Captain Peterson asked.

  “Where do you think?” Wilcox responded.

  “Look… I don’t think that we should let these damn things off of this world.”

  “So what… we should just let them kill everyone?”

  “You know if we could destroy… (static).” Captain Peterson was saying. Something happened to his communicational link to Wilcox.

  “Say again. I lost you.”

  “I was saying that if we could destroy them that truly would be spectacular.”

  “For whom?”

  “What do you mean? It would be spectacular for us all. Everybody upon this world.”

  “I think that you need to get your head examined.”

  “You know this world may still have some old torpedoes laying around. Or there may be some left over from Dark Phoenix’s victory.”

  “Naw, I think it’s a long shot. We need you here.”

  “I think that we should try it. Look, what if we could pull it off? What then?”

  “So you’re just doing this for fame and attention?”

  “Maybe so. But you got to admit it, it truly would be awesome to pull it off. Now think about it. We, me and you, stopped the EOD or should I say the EOD greatest weapon that they could ever conceived of, right here upon this world. Why let someone else get the credit?”

  “Look, I’m tired and…”

  “Of what? Or should I say of whom? The media perchance? Don’t worry about them. You let me take care of that. Okay?”

  “And what if there are no torpedoes? What then?”

  “Then at least we can say that we tried. I do believe that the people of this world would forgive us of at least trying. Come on. What do you say?” Captain Peterson mentioned. Wilcox wanted to give in but he truly wasn’t certain that it would work. What else could he do but to give in? At least then he could say that he tried.

  “Yeah alight. On your head so be it.” Wilcox responded.

  “’On my head’?” Captain Peterson asked.

  “With the media.”

  “Are you still upset about your poor performance in front of the media?”

  “I don’t won’t to talk about it.”

  “You know, we all went through what you went through. So don’t worry about it.”

  The two of them had that conversion roughly 94 minutes after the Golem retook the bait. It wasn’t until 03:18 hours that Peterson returned with only three old torpedoes. Unfortunately each one was a low yield measured in the kilotons. The Golems by that time was already leaving Wolf Creek and was still following Task Force ZH-3C onboard the monorail. The team was asleep throughout the journey that led them back to where it all began. After Peterson gave the torpedoes to Wilcox he then left and started to scour the area around Ishtar for any torpedoes that may have been left. He also sent a urgent communiqué to Maxwell for the location of any possible torpedoes that may have been left behind. It took almost twelve hours before he, got the return message, found one single torpedo, and was able to return back to Wilcox with the torpedo.

(3)

  “Why are you here?” Dr. Costa asked La’jyn’eu Ikkry’o. He was on the bridge which is something that he hardly ever does. Nobody had any real reason to go there.

  “I just got an urgent communiqué from a Captain Peterson on Golden Hyperion concerning that they need help from something called a ‘Golem’.”

  “Captain Peterson? What happen to Lenkov, Omori and The Hammer of Doom?”

  “Here read this.” La’jyn’eu Ikkry’o responded.

  “Oh my god. Oh my god! I don’t believe it.” Dr. Costa was too shocked to take it all in.

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Sure you do. You always have.”

  “At top speed it will take us almost four days just to get there. If Task Force ZH-3C achieves their objectives then the Golems may very well be in orbit. We can then lose this ship.”

  “According to this, Peterson stated that one of the Golems was destroyed. He stated that he strongly believes that they can be destroyed. Like he said, if they get off of that world than far more people will die.” Dr. Costa responded.

  “What do you think that we should do?”

  “I think that we should help. Isn’t that what your heart is telling you to do? Isn’t it?”

  “Alright. Inform the others.”

  It was never easy for him to pilot that ship. It really does take more than one person. But what makes matters worse is the fact that the ship can only receive messages not send them. What could he do? He really wanted to send one out. To let everyone know that help is coming. But alas he could do nothing more than work hard piloting that ship. It was causing him to think of his home world. The Golems, the hive. The mass number of people suffering and dying. He knows what it will be like when they get there. He’d seen it before. But at least this time it is somehow different. Could it be possible that there may be the hope of victory? His own personal salvation? Of his people perhaps? God he’d hope so. He so much wanted them all to be okay.

  “Please, dear god, please give those poor dear people the strength to survive this new nightmare.” He prayed to himself.

(4)

  “Listen up everyone! The torpedoes are here! Fall back to a safe distance!” The officer mentioned over the radio system to all air and ground forces.

  The communicational Golem, which was somewhat of the slowest, was also the farthest away from the other two. It was still trying it’s best to cross the eastern waterway nearest Wolf Creek. (It was also somewhat close to the ocean.) When the crew with the three old torpedoes arrived. (The torpedoes was already retrofitted to be able to fire and to be guided by a retrofitted mobile artillery.) The first torpedo use was the one with the smallest yield at 1 kiloton. It struck the Golem in it’s left “elbow” completely destroying it’s left arm. (It look like it did more damage blowing the left half of it’s “torso” apart but those damn nanites “grabbed” the pieces blown off and reattached them.) They then used the 8 kiloton torpedo and it hit the Golem in it’s right “hip” causing the Golem to fall into the water. The Golem was blown in half by the explosion. Although it’s left arm and it’s hip was no more it still was not dead. It still had it’s “legs” they were just not attached to it anymore. They then decided to use the 15 kiloton on it. Because the Golem was almost completely under water, with it’s right arm periodically coming out, they had to guess at where it was under water. When the explosion was over they heard nothing but an eerie calm. A brave helicopter pilot then few over the site and got low to the water.

  “We killed it! Oh my fucking god! I don’t believe it! We killed it!” The pilot reported back. Nobody could believe it, but there it was the pilot was flying very low to the water where the Golem was. It was indeed dead.

(5)

  Wilcox was yet again in front of the media at the urging of Peterson. (Peterson made excuses as to why he couldn’t do it.) Wilcox and the media finally made it to the site of the second Golem’s death. And this time it was early in the morning. Behind him as he was talking to the media their helicopters was buzzing around the down Golem video taping and broadcasting the wreckage. He was doing a far better job this time around. And later when he saw how the media was portraying him it soften him up a bit concerning how he views them.

  “See I told you that it would work.” Peterson mentioned to Wilcox after Wilcox finished talking to the media.

  “Yeah. Now we have only one torpedo left to take out two.”

  “Aw come on now. Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.”

  “Yeah.” Wilcox responded not being convinced because the last two Golems are not close enough. What’s more, both needs to be in the water. Or at least deep enough in the water.

  “I was right about the media wasn’t I? So maybe I’m right about this.” Peterson responded trying his best to cheer him up.

  “Yeah well… I got work to do. Goodbye.”

(6)

  “Are you serious? You mean that they actually killed it?” Coté asked someone.

  They were boarding the very boat that they used so long ago when they got the news. It felt like they just completed their original mission and now they’re going back to their extraction zone. Each one of them kept on thinking about everything that they went through since they got to that world. Seeing that boat again and being on board was weighing heavy upon all of them because of all of their teammates that lost their lives. Everyone spent most of their time on the deck looking at the scenery passing them by. They would take pictures and videos of that scenery and certain parts of the boat.

  “Why are you crying?” Coté asked Nakada.

  “I found Sanchez rosary beads.” He responded. He was setting down at a table in the cafeteria. He look so lost and hurt.

  “What she lost them?”

  “No. They were just lying on the bed that she used. Along with this.” Nakada responded. He then gave her a picture of Sanchez family showing her husband, herself, and their children. It caused Coté to cry. She then took the rosary beads and the picture and placed it with the bible and the crucifix from that small church. They then left to see if they couldn’t find anymore personal items from their fallen teammates. They found nothing else.

  “Hey ma’am I just received a message from Jaguar 42R stating that he is trying is best to slow down the factory Golem so that it can be taken out. He also stated that he now knows how to destroy the last one.” Ramirez informed Vaistll.

  “Okay. Thank you.” Vaistll responded with a heavy sigh.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” She didn’t want to tell him of her suspicions that Jaguar 42R and Viper 33X is going to sacrifice themselves to take out the last Golem.

(7)

  “This is Jaguar 42R to all ground forces. It appears from my attitude that KEV 74 has been blasted from the Golem. We will now get into a defensive position between KEV 74 and the Golem. We can only give you no more than six to ten minutes. Retrieve the bitch now!”

  The Golem in a desperate bid to retrieve KEV 74 ended up getting stuck in the mud. It did not take long for the crew with the last torpedo to arrive. But they couldn’t use it. Not until the Golem gets back into deep enough water. And the only place that is deep enough is the waters between the harbor and the pier that Task Force ZH-3C was traveling between when they were first on that cargo ship. And this time around, for the team, they can just sit idly by passing the time away. For this time some of Lenkov’s personnel is acting as the crew of the ship.

  “That mother fucking Kronos Golem has turned around! Either it’s heading back to help out the damn wretched stuck Golem, it’s confused, or it’s trying to retrieve the KEV!” A pilot shouted out over the radio. (Everyone started to call it Kronos because ever so once in a while it would say it.)

  “Hey Jaguar! Where do you want us to take the KEV!?” The pilot asked.

  “What’s the condition of the damn bitch!?”

  “She’s still in her incubation tube!”

  “Understood! Take her to the rendezvous point!” Jaguar 42R responded. That would be the cargo ship that Task Force ZH-3C is on.

  “The other fucker just unstuck itself and is on the move!” One of the pilots mentioned. That particular pilot was hovering around the Golem in order to keep everyone updated on it.

  “Where is it headed!?” Jaguar 42R asked.

  “It appears to be headed in the same generalize direction as before!”

  “What about the Kronos one!?” Jaguar 42R asked the pilot monitoring it.

  “I think that dumb fuck…! Wait a minute.” Pilot was saying. In the background it sounded like he was chuckling. He then continued on. “Here is a video feed on the Kronos Golem!”

  The pilot actually sent the video feed over the main channel so that even the media could pick it up. Everybody watched as it was headed towards a steep embankment. It then said Kronos. Took a step and felled down the embankment. As it was tumbling down it sounded like it was saying either that it eat crows and toes, or it sounded like it was saying that it eats crows… oh no. Then when it finished falling and as it was trying to get up, it said Kronos again. Everybody got a big kick out of it. It gave them a chance to laugh at it and indirectly at the EOD. That one single incident did more damage to the EOD upper echelons reputation than what anybody could have ever had imaged.

(8)

  “Jaguar 42R, and both Captain Peterson and Wilcox, wants us to drop each of you off at that harbor.” The acting captain of the cargo ship stated to Task Force ZH-3C.

  “Did they give a reason why?” Vaistll asked.

  “Yeah. Jaguar 42R discover a better way to get those two numnutz to follow a rabbit. So you and your team is no longer needed. The three of them wanted to put you guys somewhere safe and sound.” The acting captain responded.