2288: The Skotadian Experiment Read online

  “Thank you and tell him that no harm will happen to him.” Omori informed him.

  “What do you think?” Lenkov asked Omori after Maxwell left.

  “First of all, I still think it’s some form of a trap. Nevertheless, we may still be able to use him to, not only reveal his plans, but perhaps Dark Core as well. But even if we can’t, in either case, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” Omori responded.

  (7)

  “Did you hear . . . about your . . .?” Vaistll was asking Mad Dawg. She knew how much that ship meant to him and she didn’t know what to say.

  “Of course I heard. I was the first to be informed.” He responded over the satellite link. He was waiting to receive all the vehicles needed for him to go and take a look at what is in that underground storage area. If there is nothing other than the cloning vats then it is left up to him to decide what to do with them. What he appreciate the most about Lenkov is that he won’t let a small force (not even the Marines) attack the facility without taking all necessary precautions.

  “Well I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “My crew is more precious to me than my ship. Besides . . . it can be replaced, the crew cannot.” Mad Dawg responded.

  “What is your ETD for your mission[26]?”

  “Well because of what happened to the Hammer of Doom . . . who knows. But chances are we should be leaving within the next couple of days.”

  “Wow. Why so soon?”

  “Centuries of dealing with Skotadi forces everyone to become a lot more efficient. Only those who never become more efficient is dominated to the point of becoming something akin to a slave of the dark empire.”

  “Oh.” She responded fearing the worse for her people.

  “Look, I don’t want to seem rude but I got to go. We just received our tank and I wanted go over Lenkov’s tactics with my officers.”

  “Okay then, I’ll let you go. Talk to you later.”

  Mad Dawg was flabbergasted by the tactic of Lenkov. Dissemble a torpedo launcher and then reassemble it outside the exit to the vehicle underground facility. If the enemy attempts to use those vehicles then fire the ten megaton torpedo down the throat of the tunnel and have it detonate inside the vehicle underground facility. The shock wave alone from the speed of that torpedo would kill any infantry traveling on foot as well as knock over any APCs. Although only one torpedo could be used, Mad Dawg got a huge kick out of the fact that both the launcher and the torpedo came from Galactic Prime. As for the only other entrance? It didn’t matter since Lenkov’s tactic guaranteed that, even if only infantry came out, the Marines combined with one tank, six APCs, and ten Humvees, would guarantee that any type of a clone army would be slaughtered. Yes the Marines knew that in all likelihood there would high causalities on their part, but chances are they will emerge victorious.

  (8)

  ”I know that Ms. Sanjo is trapped inside the computers of the TIA.” Infernus was saying to both Lenkov and Omori. Neither one of them wanted to talk to him, but they had no other choice. He continued on, “I can help you with her.”

  “And how’s that?” Omori responded with contempt.

  “The problem is the Valknut. Once it is placed inside an android, especially one with a consciousness in it, it will only accept orders from that consciousness.” Infernus informed them.

  “And the fact that she is unconscious?” Omori asked him.

  “What you are trying to do is to send that consciousness away and the security measures contained within the Valknut will not allow it.” Infernus responded.

  “So what do you recommend that we do then?” Omori asked with growing contempt and mistrust.

  “Place her back into her body, have her deactivate the Valknut, remove it, then you can send her on her way to Tyos Prime.” Infernus responded. Lieutenant Commander North did confirmed that in theory it should work but there is no guarantees.

  “We’ll get back to you on that.” Omori responded with the look of distrust.

  Once Sakura was placed back into her body she looked at Omori and said, “Thank god for I was deeply afraid of becoming the ant who became god.”

  Omori was familiar with the philosophy of the ant who became god. It was Jason M. Idelle who came up with it and it stated that there once was an ant who became a human. And it look back upon the ants as what? The way that ants would view themselves, or the way that humans would? Worse it would see them with contempt. For it understood them the way that no human could. It could not believe that this is what it once was. And that gave it contempt for what it once was. It knew too much. It understood too much. And that is the reason why it would show contempt. The ant is a human and the human is what is called Cyeus. And that is the sole reason why neither human nor Skotadi wanted anything closely resembling a Cyeus to exist.

  “I just wanted to let you know that the TIA appears to be coming back online.” Lenkov informed Omori over the intercom.

  “Arigatou.” Omori responded. She almost dropped her cellphone when she got the call since she was checking, along with North, Sakura.

  “Doitashimashite.” Lenkov responded.

  “Gomen nasai[27]. My friend.” Sakura stated right before her systems was fired.

  “Ma’am . . . it appears that the Valknut is the reason why her systems was fired. I am so sorry for your lost.” Lieutenant Commander North responded.

  “It must have been the Kronos of Id. It’s okay, for I’m heading back to Tyos Prime.” Sakura stated with her dying breath.

  “Ma’am . . . will you be alright?” North asked after Sakura passed away.

  “I’m a typical Skotadian warrior. Pour out a little liquor . . . for tomorrow there is a new fight to fight.” Omori responded with the classic Skotadian warrior look.

  Neither one of the them caught what Sakura meant when she stated that she was going back to Tyos Prime. Omori is right to call them an idiot. A piece of Sakura’s conscious is in all likelihood there at the android sever farm. Trying to protect their rear end those who was running the place did everything that sealed their fate. Hence, the rebellion that the Dragon Clones went to put down. Had either Omori, North, or Infernus, realized that there is a part of Sakura’s conscious still at that sever farm they would have known that her system would have been fired as soon as she would have come out. That was standard operating procedures at that sever farm. But alas, neither Lenkov, Omori or Infernus, ever went to that wretched place. It was a strange twist of fate that kept the three of them from being sent to the same division that most people go. Back on Valkyrie the three of them became infected with a brain parasite and for that reason they had to go to a special division on Tyos Prime in order to become an android.

  (9)

  “You see my plan is turning out quite well.” Infernus was informing the other three Dark Core members over a secure network. “You bet against statistics you will lose every time. When it comes to game theory it’s all a numbers game.”

  “But how could you have known?” Medusa Pandora asked him.

  “Simple. Psychology, statistics, prediction. It was I who created the so-call religion of Valkyrie. The perpetual thorn in Skotadi’s side. There must be order . . . brought to Dark Core! There’s too many goddamn members for Christ sake! It was I who placed the Cross of Mithras document on that world. Just to see who will do what with it. And look at who we may get! Lenkov and Omori![28] Either they will turn to us or they will be eliminated. At this point in time both still seems quite possible! Although Ms. Sanjo is worthless to us, if anything were to happen to her it may turn out to be the catalysis that would cause Lenkov and Omori to turn to us.” Infernus informed them.

  “But their status is still pending! We need them now! Or least have them eliminated.” Inferno of Terror responded.

  “They should be one of us by now![29]” Dark Serpent added.

  “It’s that damn bitch Sakura! Her life is holding them back! She must die now! I say kill her!” Medusa Pandora responded with
the thirst for blood.

  “No! Our hands must not be in it or they’ll come after us!” Inferno of Terror responded with a deep concern at the possibility.

  “Where’s your precious game theory!? It’s worthless!” Medusa Pandora angrily said to Infernus. He only gave her the look of a egomaniac.

  “It’s the game of chess. Move and counter-move.” Infernus responded.

  “Now you’re talking nonsense! I won’t hear of it!” Dark Serpent responded.

  “Never mind about that. Besides . . . I have to go my ride is here.” Infernus responded. He then got up to leave and head off to the Hammer of Doom. All of his support androids were destroyed (including the other three Dark Core members) which means only one body to kill. So now it’s all over, right? Wrong.

  (10)

  “Who am I, Dr. Hannibal Lecter?” Infernus asked Captain Maxwell when he arrived on the Hammer of Doom.

  “Worse. You are you. The god of all monsters.” Captain Maxwell responded with a great deal of contempt and suspicion. Maxwell really wanted his head on a platter.

  Infernus was surrounded by four silver star VERM agents, a Chief Warrant Officer with an armor piercing shotgun pointed at the back of Infernus’ head, and six Spec Ops personnel ready for combat[30]. What’s more, he had to keep his hands up at all times. When he moved they moved and nobody took their eyes off him, nor did they let him out of their sights. None of them will let their guard down. Their destination was the ultra secure brig for gold star VERM agents.

  “Enjoy your quarter you damn son-of-a-bitch.” Maxwell said to Infernus when he was placed into the brig and after security left.

  “You will be held there until the fleet gets here. Your life depends upon their honesty.” Omori said to Infernus over the radio.

  “Can’t we talk?” Infernus asked in a polite tone of voice. Omori, without saying a word, discontinue the call. It was at that point that he realized that he may have underestimated both Lenkov and Omori. Now how can he get out of this mess that he got himself into? He will never admit to it but his so-call “plans” are just his own personal glory. In effect he makes it up as he goes along.

  (11)

  “Ma’am, our defensives are up and running. Everyone is in position.” Ellis informed his captain. Who only nodded her head.

  “And the Fiends?” Ramirez asked.

  “What you normally would expect from a Skotadian regiment.” Ellis responded.

  “Shit.” Ramirez responded. He knows that they will be in the fight for their lives with no hope of escape.

  “What about the Hammer of Doom?” Taylor asked.

  “Sir . . . in the next eighteen hours the Fiends will be on top of us and the engineers on the Hammer of Doom will, in theory, will be at least five till ten hours away from . . . the possible completion of connecting the ship to the TIA.” Ellis responded.

  “I thought that the Fiends would be on top us sooner rather than later.” Vaistll asked.

  “Ma’am they’re clones . . . which means that they are idiots. What’s more they have to cross three rivers.” Ellis responded.

  “And the fleet?” Vaistll asked.

  “They are at least fifteen to twenty hours away.”

  “Okay thank you.” Vaistll responded.

  A Loss Too Great To Bear

  (1)

  The fleet just arrived and if they wanted to they could easily destroy the Hammer of Doom. Neither one wanted to since they were carrying the latest technology that was, not only the most difficult to reverse engineer, but the most sensitive from Andromeda. Only one ship, commanded by Captain Levine, was a Skotadian Destroyer. Their destination would have been Roscadia, but Parker’s action nixed that putting it off to a later date. Had they arrived Skotadi would have brought prosperity to that world and chances are Parker would have been either promoted out, or given a new assignment. Or if Parker liked, he could have stayed, watch Skotadi “chase” the mafia out, everything turns around for the best, and then who knows how Parker’s life would have turned out.

  “Thank god we finished our work.” Lieutenant Commander North stated to one of his engineers. The work that he was referring to was fully connecting the TIA starbase and the LMPG to the Hammer of Doom. All three was now, in a matter of speaking, is one ship (or starbase if you like). But there is one problem. The TIA starbase may appear to be coming back online, but there is something wrong with the computers. Nobody can access them. North is dumbstruck.

  (2)

  “If he’s here he could be an asset.” Captain DeVore responded. He, along with the other captains, were in the conference room on the Hammer of Doom. He was referring to none other than Infernus.

  “I don’t trust that ugly piece of shit. I smell a trap.” Captain Maxwell retorted back.

  “And if it isn’t?” Captain Easton asked.

  “That goddamn mothering-fucking Satan looking piece of shit the only thing that . . .” Captain Maxwell yet again retorted back.

  “Look . . . never before in Skotadi’s history have a Dark Core member betray them.” Captain Easton responded.

  “Oh bullshit! And the current dirty civil war!? Who in the hell is fighting whom!? In case if you haven’t noticed it’s Dark Core versus Dark Core!” Maxwell retorted.

  “Why do you hate him so much? Why not give him a chance to prove himself?” Captain DeVore asked Maxwell. Before Maxwell could answer he got a call on his cellphone that the Fiends are attacking Task Force ZH-3C.

  (3)

  “Be advise that the army of Fiends are here. We will not be able to land anytime soon. Good luck and Godspeed.” The Skotadian pilot informed Task Force ZH-3C.

  Without a miracle none of the defenders will survive. They must wait for that miracle. Some of them won’t make it. But no matter what, all of them want to win more so for the team, then for themselves. They all knew that if they could destroy this army of Fiends than no more Fiends will ever come.

  Those defenders who could see them, not only saw all of those Fiends coming at them, but noticed the vehicles and the airplanes coming as well, and then they saw it—the Skotadian Dominator. The Dominator is what Skotadi uses to protect the flanks of it’s armies. They don’t always use them, but when they do, they use them in pairs. And because of that, there are only two of them on Golden Hyperion. The Dominator, like the airplanes coming at the lab complex, is strictly robotic. The Dominators on Golden Hyperion are 500 feet (152.4 meters) long and has three types of weapons: EMP cannon, plasma cannon, and nano-disruptor. The only times when a Dominator is vulnerable is when it is flying to it’s target and right before it lands. Nevertheless, it has shields to give it some protection. All other vulnerabilities are based upon rumors and not fact.

  “Focus all plasma cannons on the Dominator on the right!” Taylor ordered them. Thirty seconds later it was shot down.

  Taylor knew that the only way to shoot one down was to do as he said. If he were to let them attempt to shoot both down, not only is it that they wouldn’t have enough time, but it would also fail to shoot either down. When the Dominator crashed to the ground, not only did it created a small earthquake, but the explosion killed and/or wounded a unknown number of Fiends. Taylor had no idea on how to destroy the other Dominator. But it didn’t matter since Sanchez did.

  “Hoffneisten, Kaminski, Caparzo! Get over here!” Sanchez ordered them.

  “You wanted to see us ma’am?” Hoffneisten nervously asked her. Scared because of what’s coming at them and nearly getting killed earlier.

  “I know how to destroy that damn thing. So Hoffneisten, I need you as a driver. Kaminski, you’re my gunner.” Sanchez ordered them.

  “What do you need me for ma’am?” Caparzo asked after she’d paused.

  “I want you to man that plasma cannon and keep those damn assholes off of us. Got it?” Sanchez ordered him.

  “Yes ma’am.” Caparzo responded. He knew like the others that it was a suicide mission, but someone has to do it. He also knew th
at she picked him because of his marksmanship. After all he is the best in the group with that type of gun.

  Caparzo, using the plasma cannon targeting acquisition data, scanned the terrain in front of the Dominator and sent the data to two APCs with a small plasma cannon. Both of the APCs were in front of the main entrance to the lab complex. Sanchez, Hoffneisten and Kaminski ran and got into one of the APCs and took off. The pathway that Hoffneisten took was angular to that of the lab complex and to a dirt road that ran through a forest on the right side of the Dominator. Ten seconds after Hoffneisten made it to the dirt road, Caparzo was able shoot down all robotic planes.

  “Get some you little bitches!” Kaminski yelled out to the Fiends.

  Kaminski, because of his skill at handling the plasma cannon, was fully able to make all of his shots count. Which is why Sanchez picked him. At one point he shot the engine of a APC causing the engine to explode killing the driver. He then shot at the Fiends who came out of the APC killing a few of them. He then shot a tree down causing a APC to hit it and flip end over end. He then shot the fuel tank causing the APC to explode.

  “Aw come on now! It’s more fun shooting them!” Kaminski yelled at Hoffneisten. Hoffneisten ran over a couple of Fiends. He then swerve in order to use the back end of the APC to hit a Fiend causing it to fly. Kaminski then shot and killed it. Nineteen seconds later a nano-shot went through the APC almost killing Sanchez. It passed in front of her face causing her to piss her pants. Seven seconds later the APC was hit by something putting a fist-size hole in it.

  “I’m unstoppable!” Kaminski yelled out with excitement. He then saw a Fiend in a heavy APC pointing it’s gun at him. Both of them fire their guns at one another at the same time killing each other.