The Cross of Mithras Vol. 1: EOD Operation Welcome to Hell (56 page)

  Martinez then saw her stop, dropped her flashlight, turn around, ran back to the pier, jump in the water and quickly swam back. Martinez than quickly ran back to the boat house. He got there before Coté did.

  “Ma’am there’s something wrong with Coté!” Martinez yell out.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Sanchez asked.

  “I don’t know. She was looking down at the ground at something, she then ran and jump into the water and frantically swam back.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Everybody then went outside looking for Coté, calling out her name. They didn’t hear any response until they got to the southern part of town. Coté was hunched down, naked, trembling with fear, and deeply scared. It was 04:33 hours when they found her.

  “Stay back!” Coté screamed out.

  “Coté what’s wrong with you!? What did you see?” Sanchez asked.

  “Oh god! Oh god!” Coté cried out in fear.

  “Coté… what the hell is wrong with you?” Sanchez asked. Sanchez started to come near her.

  “Stay away from me!” Coté said pointing her rifle at Sanchez.

  “Coté… I want you to listen to me and…” Sanchez started to say.

  “What did they do to me!?” Coté hysterically said.

  Sanchez started to approach Coté. And Coté once again pointed her gun at Sanchez.

  “Stay back… I-I-I... I’m infected!” Coté hysterically cried out. It had a chilling effect upon everyone.

  “Sanders! Get back to base camp and inform Captain Adnrwal of our situation!” Sanchez ordered him. Sanders left without saying a word.

  “Don’t worry Coté… everything is going to be fine. We won’t leave you.” Sanchez said in a soothing tone of voice.

(3)

  When Sanders came into the main base he immediately headed to Vaistll’s tent. She tried her best to calm him down over Coté since he was babbling incoherently. When she got it out of him she told him to go and tell both Taylor and Ramirez. She also told him to tell Hayes that she wanted to see him.

  “You wanted to see me, ma’am.” Hayes said.

  “Yes. I need you to send three of your team members over to Lieutenant Sanchez and check out Chief Petty Officer Coté. She said that she is infected.”

  “Did she say what she was infected with?”

  “No. Sanders said that she was too hysterical. So… just in case, have those you send over wear their nano-suits when they check her out.”

  “Copy that. I’m going to send out Ellis, Wexler and Moriarty ma’am.”

  “Alright. Tell Sanders to go and inform Sanchez that we’re going to move our base to her location. I also want Sanchez to find a vehicle to transport our supplies from the crossroads to the new base.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Lieutenant Hayes then left and did as he was told. While Ellis, Wexler and Moriarty was getting ready to leave, the rest of Task Force ZH-3C was preparing to move the base. A few moments after Crewman First Class Trivelli was called away from the communicational array, static could be heard. It was a clear indication that Galactic Prime was trying to contact them, but nobody was there to hear it. When Trivelli got back he immediately began to disassemble the communicational array to prepare it for transport.

  “Nakada… front and center!” Ramirez called out to him.

  “Nakada reporting as order, sir!”

  “I need three of your people to use the Quad-Walkers to move our equipment and supplies to the crossroad that leads to that small town where Lieutenant Sanchez is.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Quad-Walkers are quadruped robots that assist a person in carrying cargo over rough terrain. Fully loaded they move at roughly three miles per hour on level ground. Task Force ZH-3C had three of them and it would take four trips to move all of their equipment and supplies. Shortly after the Quad-Walkers left, a powerful thunderstorm struck the region.

  The ground was soaking wet. It was nighttime when Green Team was finished loading the Quad-Walkers. Brewster, Venito and Anderson were in the Quad-Walkers, heading for the crossroad, when the storm struck. Sanders had already made it back to the boat house when the storm struck. Although Sanders downloaded the data from his Topographical Creator to the Topographical Interface Network (TIN) it was of little use.

  The Topographical Creator collects data on what an individual “sees” and then it creates a 3-D map of the terrain. The problem for Task Force ZH-3C is that it demands either a satellite or a starship link up in order for it to work properly. Without that type of link up, each team member would need to download their data into the Topographical Interface Network. Normally the TIN would do it through their com-system, but if there is a communication blackout then each team member would need to manually download the data from the TN into their Topographical Creator. They also could share the data with one another. But no one in Blue Team remembered to share that data. Task Force ZH-3C has to go by Sanders map data. It was a recipe for disaster and it didn’t take long for it to strike.

  “I’m lost.” Venito said through the com-system to both Brewster and Anderson.

  “I thought we weren’t suppose to use our com-system.” Anderson asked them.

  “Well I’m certain that whoever is on that EOD starbase can defeat us because… I’M LOST!” Venito said. She was getting frustrated because she can’t see where she’s going.

  “Where are you?” Brewster asked her.

  “If I knew the answer to that question then I wouldn’t be lost.” Venito responded.

  “Well… look up at the sky and tell me what do you see?” Anderson said in almost rude manner.

  “You look up at the sky and tell me what you see!” Venito said. She was starting to get annoyed.

  “I’m asking you. You dumb bitch.” Anderson said.

  “Okay asshole. Now let me see. I can see the top of trees and… um… oh yeah… RAIN.” Venito said. She was getting frustrated with Anderson and the weather.

  “Man… you dumbasses are going to get us killed.” Caparzo said through the com system.

  “Hey… where are you Caparzo?” Venito asked.

  “Standing here soaking wet looking at you.” Caparzo responded.

  “Really… where? Where am I in relation to you?” Venito asked.

  “You are north-by-southwest of my position. It looks like you are fixing…” Caparzo was saying.

  “Hey… wait right there I’m going to come to you.” Venito said.

  “No wait. I said it looks like… Hey Venito stop! Don’t turn around!” Caparzo yelled at her through the com-system when he realize where she was.

  “What? I…” Venito was then abruptly cut off. They only thing that they could hear was the sound of her screaming and then silence.

  Venito tumbled down an embankment when her Quad-Walker lost footing in the saturated soil. Her Quad-Walker landed upside down. As luck would have it, she wasn’t carrying the communicational array. But what she was carrying was just as bad, if not worse, than losing the communicational array. No one wanted to hear what she was carrying.

  Caparzo was first on the scene. He climbed on top of the underbelly of the Quad-Walker and opened the Emergency Escape Hatch. Venito’s right arm was broken and her right shoulder was dislocated. She was in a lot of pain. Caparzo helped her out and then gave her an injection of nanoprobes which repaired her broken arm. Caparzo then had to reset her dislocated shoulder.

  “Ma’am… I hate to break communication blackout… but we have an incident with Venito.” Caparzo said through the com-system. He had to manually open a channel to Vaistll.

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “She was lost and her Quad-Walker lost footing on a saturated embankment.”

  “Is she alright?”

  “Yes ma’am. But I’m going to need help in order to recover the cargo.” Caparzo said that because he thought that maybe the EOD might be listening.

  “Understood. Do you have a… uh… a flare?” Vaistll asked.

  “Uh… um… yes ma’am. Why?”

  “Use it in the next minute.”

  “Copy that.”

  Vaistll then opened a channel over the com system to Red, Green and White Team. She told them that there is an emergency and that they need to look for a signal then go to it.

  The problem for Caparzo is that he didn’t have any flares. He had only a beacon which could be picked up by both a starship and a starbase. Caparzo was confused by Vaistll’s order. What did she meant by “flare”? The only thing that he had was something that could be picked up by anyone with a receiver. Don’t she know that he doesn’t have a flare but a beacon? Caparzo thought that she knew that the flares were already boxed up and ready to be moved.

  In truth, Vaistll knew that he didn’t have a flare. But she knew, and neither Caparzo nor Venito knew, that the Quad-Walker had an emergency flare. It is so rare for a Quad-Walker to land on its back that most people don’t know that there is an all-weather emergency flare in it. Vaistll knew it because of her age and her experience. And because she’s an officer.

  “Hey Caparzo… what did she say?” Venito asked him.

  “Weren’t you listening through the com-system?”

  “No because we’re in a communicational blackout. So what did she say?”

  “For me to use a flare.”

  “What!? Don’t she know that we don’t have one?”

  “Apparently not. So what do you think we should do?”

  “Don’t you have a beacon?”

  “You got to be shittin’ me.”

  “Does it look like I’m shittin’ you? Just use it.”

  “What… and give away our position?”

  “I thought I already did that when I broke Standing Order CX (communication blackout). Besides what could it hurt? Other than the obvious. Look… either the EOD already knows where we are… or they don’t?”

  “You know that in all likelihood they are probably listening in on our conversation.”

  “Yeah… and don’t forget what I’m carrying.”

  When Venito said that Caparzo got the point and activated the beacon. It didn’t take long for both of them to be founded. But since he used the beacon it put everybody on edge. Some of them chewed him out for using the beacon. But as for Vaistll, Taylor and Ramirez they just remained stoic about it.

  Yes the EOD did in fact picked up the beacon, but it was on Starbase VXN-2212/O. Neither Lenkov, nor Omori did anything about it. In truth they didn’t care. Galactic Prime also picked up the signal and they saw it as a sign of urgent help. Mad Dawg ordered maintenance to hurry it up and finish repairing the com system.

  A few hours after both Venito and Caparzo was found, Brewster arrived at the crossroad that led to the small town. He was the first to arrive in a Quad-Walker. After he waited for nearly thirty minutes for a vehicle to come and collect the supplies, he left and headed into town. Quad-Walkers were never designed to travel in the city or upon city streets. They were designed to travel over rough terrain. As Brewster was walking down the street, he was damaging the roads and off-and-on the buildings.

  “What in the fuck are you doing!?” Sanchez screamed at Brewster.

  “Ma’am… I thought a vehicle was suppose to be at the crossroads and…” Brewster said through the Quad-Walker’s loud speakers.

  “Get the fuck out of there you dumbass!”

  “Ma’am I need to…”

  “No! You’re obviously too goddamn fucking stupid to know what the word WAIT means! Now get out of there. NOW!”

  “Yes ma’am.” Brewster said as he got out of the Quad-Walker.

  “Now you listen to me you little shit… stay right here and don’t move. Got it!” Sanchez ordered him after he got out of the Quad-Walker.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Sanchez then left, went back to the boat house and got Guerrero to come with her.

  “What are you smiling at?” Brewster asked Guerrero.

  “Shut the fuck the up.” Sanchez snapped back. “Guerrero… teach this dumbass how to use a Quad-Walker and take it back to the crossroad.” She added.

  “Yes ma’am.” Guerrero said while smiling at Brewster.

  When Guerrero got the Quad-Walker back to the crossroad he was met by Anderson, Caparzo and Venito. Anderson had already climbed out of his Quad-Walker.

  “Hey Brewster… you major dumbass! Don’t you know that you’re not suppose to use those in a city?” Venito said when she saw Guerrero coming in the Quad-Walker.

  “Close.” Guerrero said through the Quad-Walker’s loud speakers.

  “So what happened to Coté?” Caparzo asked after Guerrero got out of the Quad-Walker.

  Before Guerrero could say anything they heard a truck honk it’s horn. Hoffneisten was driving and Brewster was in the passenger seat.

  “Hey Brewster… what did she say?” Anderson asked.

  “She said that Guerrero is assigned to my Quad-Walker and I have to help with off-loading the deuce-and-a-half.” Brewster said in a embarrassing tone of voice.

  “Hey Venito… where’s your Quad-Walker?” Hoffneisten asked.