The Cross of Mithras Vol. 1: EOD Operation Welcome to Hell (37 page)

Down the street, near the entrance of Project 21 headquarters, he saw that it was still standing there. It slowly walked towards him. No one could see the dark entity, only Parker could. Cars went through it as if the dark entity didn’t exist.

  Parker got up still facing it, turned around, and started to run. As he did, he saw a black blur coming from his left side and then stopping in the alley. Parker then turned and looked at it. In the alley Parker saw two street punks robbing, and/or raping, a woman. She was sitting down on the ground against a dumpster. One of the men lean forward over her, she then pulled a knife and stabbed him in the neck. The other street punk then shot her dead. The street punk than turned around and saw the dark entity standing behind him. The dark entity than reach out with his left hand, placed it over the corpse of the two dead people, and one of those black tear drops came from them and enter into the dark entity. Parker than realized what he was dealing with - an angel of death.

  Parker watched as the street punk slowly backed up into the street and then stopped when the dark entity stopped. The dark entity rose up its right hand and pointed to its left. The street punk than turned to his right and screamed when he saw that he was fixing to be hit by a bus. The dark entity moved to the street punk dead body and than collected his soul.

“PA…R…KER…I…COME FOR…YOU.” It said.

  Parker than shook his head in horror. He turned to run, but before he could take a step the dark entity, moving as fast as a blur, cut him off. Parker than turned to run in a different direction, but once again, before he could take a step the dark entity moved to cut him off. Each time Parker turned to run in a different direction the dark entity promptly cut him off. It then became a circular blur that surrounded Parker preventing him from going anywhere.

  “Please.” Parker said pleading with it. He watched as a face formed on the blur. The circle started to close in on Parker with the face getting closer to him.

  “What do you want from me?” Parker said as he dropped to his knees. He was crying out of fear and frustration.

  “PA…R…KER.”

  “Please don’t.” Parker cried for his life and his soul.

  “I…WANT…YOU TO…WAKE UP.” It said confusing Parker.

  “What?” Parker said still trembling with fear and crying.

“WAKE UP!” It shouted.

  With that Commodore Parker woke up in bed. He was still lying on his back. As soon as he woke up he felt something blew air into his right ear. He then flew out of bed and put his right hand on his ear. He looked at what could have caused it and saw only that jar that Iakuoyr gave him. He was deeply confused by that. It couldn’t have been the cause of what blew air in his ear. But it was the only thing on his right side. Nothing else could have explained it. What’s more, when he fell asleep he was holding the jar in his hands.

Parker looked at the time, it read 08:22 hours. Roughly one hour of sleep and there was no way he could fall back to sleep. He then decided to get off Galactic Prime, go to his office, and then maybe he could get some rest. But there was no way he was going to stay another moment on that ship. Not after he had a dream like that.

(6)

  Between 08:30 to 10:00 hours, each of the members of Task Force ZH-3C and Commodore Parker did something that will forever alter not only their lives, but the lives of everybody in the galaxy. Only the decisions of Commodore Parker are his, and only his to make. He can choose the pathway for himself and for the entire galaxy. For Task Force ZH-3C, the decisions that they will make may tear the whole team apart out of fear for the fate of their family.

  Vaistll and her family decided to leave within that time period and stay at her room at the Roosevelt. Ramirez decided to head back to Roscadia to spend time with Maria Sadowayj. All of them (including Commodore Parker) were on the same shuttlecraft.

Parker and Vaistll’s family were tired and sleepy. Parker was tired for the obvious reason, but for Vaistll’s family they found it too hard to fall asleep on anther ship. Zyynuma mentioned that, ‘After 5 ½ years on a ship that is nothing more than a death trap, it does make it hard for one to fall asleep on another ship.’

While they were on that shuttle craft two events occurred that, by themselves are unimportant, but it had a significant impact upon the decisions of everybody. The first event occurred when Iakuoyr got up and whisper into Parker’s ear, ‘In your dream… when death comes for you… it does not mean what you think it means.’ That comment reconfirmed the decisions that Parker had already made concerning what to do with Ydxx’od’omaa’s wife and what Iakuoyr gave him. The other event was a phone call that Ramirez got from Sanchez.

  Sanchez called Ramirez to inform him of Wexler idea of getting the team together for moral support. She felt that it would be necessary to have Hayes there as well since the team likes him more than they like her. She also mentioned that she told Wexler that if they don’t show up than she would order them to. Ramirez was touched by Sanchez actions and he gave her his approval.

When everybody showed up it became apparent from the beginning that the majority of the team didn’t want to go on the mission, they wanted to go home to be with their family. Sanchez, Caparzo and Choy were there. Neither one of them said anything. Their minds were already made up - they were going. Caparzo was going because he had no other choice, but he never said why. And nobody pushed him into answering why.

  But what greatly surprised and shocked them was Bryce. He didn’t like anything that he was hearing. He found that what they were saying about abandoning the mission as disgraceful. He got into a heated and lengthy argument with several of them. He mentioned that his wife is ‘up the duff,’ and that when he came out of cryo-sleep he’s been having this constant feeling that he will die on Golden Hyperion, but he is still going. They thought that he was crazy because he is abandoning his family to go on a mission knowing that he believes that he will die on that mission. Bryce added that he didn’t want to do anything to dishonor her or his children. After they chewed him out for saying that, he added that, ‘If you run in the face of evil… you will only bring it home with you. And by doing that… you will dishonor those whom you love.’

Bryce asked Sanchez if he could be excused and she said no. She said that she wanted him to hear what she had to tell to everyone. She said that, she too will be going. She then gave a speech about dishonor, completing the mission vs. going home, her past, why you should never run in the face of evil, and most important of them all: the importance of sacrifice in order to achieve a greater good. Everybody was taken back by what she said. It really did move them. But not enough to change their minds.

  Her speech was heartfelt and beautiful. It made them felt a little guilty about their selfishness, causing them to momentarily, question their motives. Sanchez heartfelt speech, changed everybody view of her. She earned their respect but not by that much. It didn’t cause them to like her.

  After Sanchez finished talking, Caparzo spoke up (first time since he got there). He said that he too would go on the mission. When asked why he didn’t say anything, he only looked at Sanchez. Before anybody could say anything Choy mentioned that, he too will go. When he said that, there was panic in the voices of those who wanted to go home. They were afraid that more of their teammates would make the decision to complete the mission. And they were right.

Senior Ensign Nakada said that he too will go. When asked why he said, ‘My beloved wife Tadako is pregnant with our first child and I would rather die than to allow our child to be born in an EOD world. The freedom of my child is more important to me than my life. I will go to Golden Hyperion. I will complete the mission, or die trying. And there is nothing that any of you can say that will change my mind. Death before dishonor.’

  Crewmen Guerrero and Kaminski had never seen combat. Neither one of them have a wife or any children of their own. But they had made their minds (before they learn of the mission) up that they wanted to fight. They didn’t want to ‘wimp out,’ nor did they want to bring any, ‘shame and dishonor’ to their family. And when Nakada finished saying what he said, both Guerrero and Kaminski made their decision known. Both of them mentioned that although they had no children of their own, Nakada is still right. Death before dishonor.

Wexler and Ellis (who was so close that people had at times mistaken them for blood brothers) got into a heated verbal argument when Wexler said that he too will go. The most shocking part of it, is when it turned ugly. Wexler mentioned that since Ellis is single he wouldn’t understand why someone like him, Bryce and Nakada would make their decision. That only infuriated Ellis. Ellis knows that, Wexler knows, that Ellis has a girlfriend and he would like to marry her someday and have children. Ellis then added that he thinks he knows why they would make their decision. Wexler added that he don’t think Ellis understands why a father would make that decision, but if Ellis was a father than he would understand. That only pissed off Ellis.

  Hayes had to step in to calm both of them down since they were on the verge of fisticuffs. Ellis asked Hayes, which side, is he taking and Hayes said that is not important. Ellis then said that he thinks that it is. Hayes then ordered Ellis to calm down. When Ellis started to say something Hayes reminded Ellis that he ordered him to calm down.

  Hayes then looked at Sanchez in such a way that it told her what his decision is. Hayes is married and has two children, but unlike Bryce, Nakada and Wexler, he is thinking more about his family than the mission. Hayes is too much of a good officer to have told Ellis how he felt. He knows that the only reason why they want to go home and be with their family is because they are scared. But for Hayes, he is too confused about what to do. So he turns to Sanchez in hope that she might know what to do. And she does. She will put their fate into the hands of God.

Sanchez mentioned that everybody who wants to complete the mission to stay, everybody who wants to go home to leave. She then ordered them not to say a word. She reminded them that they could face a court marshal for their decision. She told Hayes that she wanted to talk to him. With that everybody who wanted to leave, left. Only three decided to stay: Crewmen Lucarelli, Blumenthal, and Crewman First Class Trivelli. After everybody left, Sanchez waited a few minutes before she told Hayes that he could leave. Hayes then thanked her and left.

(7)

  Commodore Parker just got off the shuttlecraft, got into a robotic car, and headed over to Project 21 HQ. Minus the one hour of sleep that he had, he’s been awake for roughly twenty-four hours. Although Parker dozed off in the car, he didn’t sleep that long. The robotic car broke down a few blocks from the Project 21 headquarters.

  While he was walking, he stopped for some unknown reason. He then looked across the street and saw something from his dream. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A part of his dream is coming true right before his eyes. He knew that it couldn’t be a coincidence; there were too much detail for it to be that. He didn’t know what to make of it.

Just like in his dream, two street punks were robbing a woman in an alley. She was sitting down on the ground with her back up against a garbage dumpster. One of the street punks lean forward, and just like in his dream, Parker saw her pulled a knife and stabbed the street punk in the neck. Then the other street punk yelled out something and shot her dead.

  The street punk then noticed that Parker was watching him. Parker was still in disbelief in knowing that a part of his dream has come true. Parker just stood there not knowing what to do. The street punk came forward, yelling something at Parker, and stood in the street.

  “What tha fuck you looking at Parker?” The street punk said with both anger in his voice and face.

  Parker didn’t say anything he was still in disbelief that a part of his dream has come true. He was too afraid that what he was seeing is not the only part of his dream that has, or will, come true. Parker then told the street punk that he was going to die.

  “What tha fuck did you just say?” The street punk said pointing his gun at Parker.

Parker turned to his right and saw a bus coming. The bus honked its horn, slammed on its breaks, the street punk turned to his left and screamed as the bus hit and killed him. Parker just stood there, eyes widen in shock and horror. But not in the fact that he just saw someone get killed. But rather he was shocked and horrified that it came from his dream.

  When Parker finally came to his senses, he turned and ran the rest of the way to Project 21 HQ. When he was near the entrance, his right knee gave out just like in his dream. Shaking and disturb by the fact that, yet again, another part of his dream just came true, he got up feeling like his world is spinning out of control. He then checked to see if that jar that Iakuoyr gave him is still intact, which it was. He then stood there staring at the entrance for a few moments. This is the first time that he’s been in Roscadia that he saw the front entrance of the building. He always enter from the back of the building were the parking garage is.

  He calmed himself down as he realized what the dream got wrong. In front of the building there is a large circular area were people could sit, eat and enjoy the outdoors. Off to either side of the entrance were novelty shops and eateries. In front of those shops is a small walk bridge that connects to the large circular area. None of that was in his dream.