2288: The Skotadian Experiment Read online

  “Alright. That will be all Sanchez,” Vaistll said.

  “Ma’am, that thing mentioned that it was a messenger from the Hammer of Doom. Green Team knows, but I ordered my team not to mention it in front of Red or White Team while we were coming back.”

  “Why didn’t you order Green Team to stay silent?” Taylor asked.

  “Sir, at the time both teams were on the verge of hysterics and I wanted to hurry up and get my team out of there and give them time to calm down so that I could talk to them alone.”

  “What precisely did it say when it mentioned the Hammer of Doom?” Taylor asked.

  “Nothing sir. It said that it was a messenger from them.”

  “Alright. Tell Blue Team that we want to see them. And Sanchez,” Vaistll said.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “The only other people who know about them are Ellis, Wexler, and Moriarty,” Vaistll said.

  “Understood ma’am,” Sanchez said. She left and told Blue Team that the captain wanted to see them right away, returning back with them.

  Vaistll, Taylor, and Ramirez could tell that Blue Team had been through hell and back. They were in no mood to talk; they only wanted to rest. None of them mentioned the Hammer of Doom to the other team members. Not because they couldn’t, but because they didn’t feel like it.

  “Where are your helmets?” Ramirez asked Blue Team.

  “Sir, that thing shot them, rendering them useless,” Sanchez responded.

  “Ma’am, I know what you are going to say, but you don’t have to say it. We didn’t mention the Hammer of Doom in front of Red or White Team. We just want to call it a day and rest. Ma’am, can we be dismissed so that we can rest[14]?” Martinez mentioned.

  “Do all of you understand why we don’t want you to mention that if front of them?” Vaistll asked.

  “Yes ma’am,” Martinez responded.

  “Alright then. Go ahead and get your rest,” Vaistll said.

  “Ma’am, before I forget, there was a medium-sized city that the light-rail leads to. I also had Green Team send some repair robots to come and fix the light-rail’s track,” Sanchez said after Blue Team left.

  Vaistll stood there in an akimbo way, nodded her head, and then said, “Understood. Hurry up and pick up Green Team and bring them back.”

  When Sanchez got back with Green Team, Vaistll ordered them not to say a word about the Hammer of Doom to either Red or White Team. Both Brewster and Anderson got upset, saying that both teams had the right to know. But they caved in when Ramirez told them why they should keep it quiet.

  “Ellis, front and center on the double,” Ramirez said over the radio.

  “You wanted to see me sir?” Ellis said when he came in.

  “We need you keep an eye on Green Team. They, along with Blue Team, know about the Hammer of Doom. They have been ordered to keep their mouth shut. Make certain that they do,” Vaistll ordered him.

  “Yes ma’am. What about Nakada? He does outrank me.”

  “Well if he pulls rank then tell one of us and we will take care of it,” Taylor responded.

  “Where was that city that you saw more precisely?” Vaistll asked Sanchez.

  “It was located in a natural harbor on the southern side of the landmass ma’am.”

  “Alright. I want you to fly Red Team and land north of the city. Then have them take up a defensive position. After that I need you to ferry the rest of us and our equipment over there in case the robots haven’t finished the repairs,” Vaistll ordered her.

  “Yes ma’am. What about Ellis? Shouldn’t he accompany them?”

  “Ma’am, I don’t mind looking after Blue and Green Team,” Ramirez said.

  “Alright go ahead,” Vaistll said to Ramirez.

  Sanchez then left with Red Team. When she was ten miles from the city, she headed north along the waterway. When she got far enough north she headed inland. While she was looking for a place to land, she started to take on incoming fire from small arms, rifles, chain-guns, and RPGs. The tail of the helicopter was hit, causing her to land in a nearby river, hard. The helicopter landed on its side. Everyone made it out in one piece, and they were able to recover their gear.

  “May Day! May Day! We’re taking on incoming fire from an unknown number of hostiles! We’ve made it to our destination! Please send help imm. . .!” Sanchez said over the radio. The call ended in static.

  “Ma’am! Sanchez was forced down north of the city! She said that they were taking on enemy fire from an unknown number of hostiles!” Ramirez told Vaistll after he ran from the tent to inform her. He had Green Team handle the radio while he kept a watchful eye on them.

  “Shit. Looks like we have no other choice but to leave immediately, on the light-rail,” Vaistll said.

  “Yes ma’am,” Ramirez said with a knot in his throat.

  Everyone in Task Force ZH-3C quickly moved all equipment and gear on the light-rail[15]. They could not and would not leave their friends behind. The radio was the last to go. They tried their best to contact Galactic Prime but couldn’t.

  While everyone was on the light-rail, as it was leaving to head to the city, the robots finally came and fixed it. The team was very tense, nervous, and scared. They knew what would happen as soon as they got to the city. Someone would see them, and that person would either run or scream—then everyone would know that they were there. Their mission would then be as good as over. They couldn’t leave their friends. They had to take the chance.

  When they got to the city, they neither heard nor saw any activity. It was 12:43 p.m. when they arrived at the light-rail station. Both White and Green Team were ordered to clear and secure the building. Green Team moved out first. After Green Team finished searching the level that they were on, they gave the all-clear signal. White Team then moved out and took up Green Team’s position. Green Team then left and searched another level. Both teams repeated the action until the whole building had been searched and secured. There was nobody in the building they could not see anyone outside.

  “Ma’am, none of this makes any sense. According to the calendar, this should be a typical working day. There should be people here both inside and outside the building,” Ramirez said when both White and Green Team finished searching the building.

  “Do you have any ideas that could explain it?” Vaistll asked.

  “No ma’am.”

  “Alright. Let’s move our gear out of the train.”

  Fifteen minutes later, while White Team was monitoring for any activity outside the building, Cole said something that sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

  “I see movement!” Cole shouted.

  “Friend or foe!?” Taylor asked.

  “I can’t tell sir! But they’re headed our way!” Cole responded.

  (4)

  The time period that the Hammer of Doom was supposed to have returned had come and gone. But instead of making it seem as though they had returned the minute that they were expected, they instead “returned” early enough to be in the blind spot of the unknown cosmic weapon in Ishtar’s atmosphere. They came at Galactic Prime in such a way that made it impossible for them to make a successful retreat. But if given the choice, what could Galactic Prime do? They were completely caught off guard.

  “Sir, we’re being hailed,” a private said in a very nervous manner.

  Sergeant Chester didn’t say anything. He just stood there wide eyed and scared. The private, with his hand trembling with fear, pushed the button to open the channel.

  “This is the Skotadian Heavy Battle Cruiser, the Hammer of Doom. To whom am I speaking to?” Omori asked in a polite tone of voice.

  Sayaka was sitting in her chair on the bridge. On the left was Joseph’s chair and on the right was Captain Maxwell’s chair. Both of them were in the conference room. She was wearing a very beautiful black and white dress with a matching hat. Sayaka looked so beautiful, alluring, and captivating—like she could take a man’s breath and his heart away. The effect
was complete on a man like Chester who was single and had no girlfriend.

  “Sir, she asked you a question,” the private said after a few moments passed.

  “Um . . . um . . . Chester, William J.” He forgot to give his rank, but not his first name.

  “Please to meet you Bill,” Omori said after she smiled. She smiled because she knew she had him. “I don’t mean to seem rude, but I’m going to have to ask something of you. You won’t think that I’m rude when I ask my question, will you?”

  “No, I won’t think that you’re rude. What is your question?”

  “Arigatou. Please forgive me when I say this, but in the best interest of you and your crew I must ask you to surrender. And if you do, I give you my word as a lady that no harm will befall you or your crew.”

  “Alright,” Chester said. He sounded the alarm that announced to the crew that they were surrendering.

  “This is Sayaka Omori of the Heavy Battle Cruiser, the Hammer of Doom. You are hereby instructed to leave the ship and head to cargo bay fifteen on our ship. Failure to comply will result in the immediate destruction of your ship. You have thirty minutes to comply. Over and out,” Omori said over Galactic Prime’s intercom system. The crew of Galactic Prime then left and headed over to the Hammer of Doom. Both Mad Dawg and Chester were given an assigned quarters. As soon as he could, Chester left to go to speak to Mad Dawg.

  When the Dragon Cone placed what Mad Dawg thought was an explosive on the bridge, he closed his eyes and waited for his death, but it didn’t come. He would have sent it to engineering to let them figure it out, but since he lost nearly his entire staff of engineers, he decided to have it sent to storage instead.

  “Chester, what are you doing here?” Mad Dawg, who was in sickbay, asked when Chester came to see him.

  “Sir, I think that they were trying to recruit me,” Chester said after the door shut and he came near to where Mad Dawg was.

  “Why do you think that?”

  “First of all sir, when Ms. Omori asked me to surrender, she was wearing a black-and-white dress. She looked very beautiful and . . .” Chester was saying. It caused Mad Dawg to laugh out loud.

  “Yeah I bet. Chester, you’re an ignorant fool. You know that?”

  “What!? All I’m saying is . . .”

  “Yeah I know what you’re saying. You saw how beautiful she is and then she had you eating out of the palm of her hand.”

  “No sir, that’s not true!”

  “Of course it’s true. You’re single.”

  “What does that have to do with anything sir!?”

  “Plenty. Do you seriously believe that she dresses up like that just to ask someone to surrender? Shut up! Let me finish. She only dresses up like that because both she and Joseph know that it can have an effect upon guys who are single. As for married guys? If they’re happily married then they typically have the attitude of look but don’t touch,” Mad Dawg said. Chester laughed a little at the thought of him desiring Sayaka.

  “Sir, no offense, but that’s bullshit. I don’t fancy the thought of having her. I don’t fantasize about her!” Chester said. He was deeply annoyed by the thought of having sex with Sayaka.

  “So, you’re telling me that you would never want to have a woman who is as beautiful as she is? Is that what you are saying?”

  “No sir, that’s not what I am saying.”

  “So you do fancy the thought of having a woman—not Sayaka, but a woman who is as beautiful as she is. Is that right?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Now you know why she dresses up like that. Because there is a small part of you that desires to have a woman as beautiful as she is. It’s a form of distraction. Distracting you from being successful in your negotiations.”

  “In other words, she is a cold, heartless, manipulative bitch.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. It was Joseph who came up with that idea. If the rumors are correct, then he came up with it as a form of a joke. Look Chester, the best, most efficient way to negotiate with them when she pulls that stunt is to show her respect and to let her win with class. Why do you think it’s better to let a happily married man negotiate with her?”

  “You mean someone like you sir,” Chester said.

  Mad Dawg didn’t respond because he knew that the answer was yes. Standing in sickbay and going through rehabilitation for his injuries also gave him the opportunity to hide his pride from Chester. He just couldn’t admit that Chester was right. What’s more, he was too depressed because of what happened.

  “Sir, they also took me and some Skotadian engineers over to Galactic Prime, and they took the computer core and the backup computer core,” Chester said.

  “So? What does that have to do with them trying to recruit you? Taking the computer core is standard procedure. Both sides do it. It’s done to prevent anyone from using the ship after it’s abandoned,” Mad Dawg said.

  The computer core and its software was not considered valuable. When the alert that signified that the crew was surrendering was announced, all important data was automatically erased. Both sides did that. It was done because it gave the crew extra time to sabotage any equipment that was deemed too valuable to fall into enemy hands.

  “I already know all of that sir,” Chester said.

  “Then what is it that they have done to convince you that they are trying to recruit you?”

  “They wanted me there because they wanted to know what type of damage was done to the ship. They were there to repair the ship. And from the looks of it, to make it combat ready.”

  Mad Dawg was too confused to say anything. Why in the universe would they repair Galactic Prime? Yes, it was obvious that they wanted something, but whatever it was it must have been extremely important. If it wasn’t treason that they wanted, then what? There was a small part of Mad Dawg that felt better. A feeling that said that his depression was coming to an end. But the confusion remained. He couldn’t help but think about why they repaired his ship and what they must want.

  After several moments passed, a guard who was waiting outside of sickbay came in and informed him that it was time to leave. Chester then left with the guard and was taken back to his assigned quarters. When they got down the hallway, the guard posted at Mad Dawg’s door sent a text message to Sayaka. She sent a message back, and the guard told Mad Dawg that both Lenkov and Omori were coming to see him.

  “Look . . . I’m not stupid. I know that both of you want something from me. What is it?” Mad Dawg asked. Both Joseph and Sayaka smiled when they heard that.

  “You’re right, we do want something from you. We can’t do it, so don’t ask, but we want you to go to Golden Hyperion and eliminate someone for us,” Omori said.

  “Let me guess—it’s both Colonel Blackburn and Captain Dawson.”

  “Yes. It will be easy to eliminate Colonel Blackburn. But with Captain Dawson, we will need for your people to attack his base in order to eliminate him. At security station M16-Y09 is where we can find the Intel that will shed light upon what is in Ishtar’s atmosphere. No one leaves until then,” Lenkov responded.

  “You see, if you don’t help us, your people will die just like our people. No survivors,” Omori said.

  “Why no survivors? Normally with Skotadi they wouldn’t kill everyone,” Mad Dawg asked them.

  “Lately Dark Core has been trying to micromanage everything. Within their arrogance, they are dismissing all advice, and in so doing it raises the possibility of further rebellion against Skotadi. And now their power must be such that they sincerely believe that they are greater than Skotadi. It is they who is the enemy to everyone,” Lenkov responded.

  “Try to remember, Thomas, that four high-ranking Dark Core members are here: Infernus, Medusa Pandora, Inferno of Terror, and Dark Serpent. Don’t ask about the names. Even we don’t know why they are called that,” Omori informed him.

  “So what about them?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “The coldest of revenge will fall upon t
heir shoulders as they learn what Intelligentsia Discontinuance means,” Lenkov responded. Mad Dawg loved those words.

  “Alright. What do you want me to do?” Mad Dawg stated. Boy did he feel good about the notion of eliminating four Dark Core members.

  (5)

  “This is Galactic Prime to Task Force ZH-3C. We are sending you Intel on enemy troop movement. Be advised that they are coming in full force. They have with them one tank and three APCs. Colonel Blackburn is with them,” a supposed Marine informed them. It was a bit strange, since no data from the Marine’s SIN was sent. But the signal did in fact come from Galactic Prime.

  “Red Team, this is Galactic Prime. We are sending you map coordinates to assist you in getting back to your base camp. Return ASAP! Large Skotadian forces detected! Don’t waste time!” The supposed Marine informed them. Yet again, no SIN was detected. They had no way of knowing if it was a Skotadian trick or not.

  The strange thing for Red Team was that the map data they were given could not have come from Galactic Prime, yet all the information appeared correct. Periodically they were told, “Get a move on it now!” It was as if though the Marines got on board the TIA starbase, reprogrammed the computers, and took over. All of which was beyond the capacity of the Marines to do. Red Team could also hear their teammates under fire. They heard their voices as well as those who were wounded.

  “Shit! Too bad Lieutenant Sanchez wasn’t here! That bitch probably would be giving me some head right now!” Caparzo said over the radio.

  “Yep, that’s Caparzo,” Wexler responded.

  “No doubt,” Ellis added.

  “Get a move on it! Now!” Sanchez barked at them. She was pissed more at Caparzo then anything else. Her comment only caused Ellis to chuckle under his breath.

  “According to this map, we need to go check out that building,” Hayes informed them. He pointed to a nondescript building.