America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 1: Feeling Lucky (21 page)

* * * * *

At the detention center, sympathetic and
frightened guards allowed #64 to keep his communications device.
#64 used the next few weeks in maximum security to record his
thoughts and to send out messages. #64 wrote a short book called
‘My Story,’ outlining his plans for Arthropoda. He accused the
humans and Greens of holding the Emperor hostage with outlandish
promises of a rumored Fountain of Youth. The Emperor, desperate for
immortality, was willing to sell out the interests of Arthropoda
for false human technology and the Greens’ money. The fool.

#64 demanded that all those
collaborating with the humans be punished. The human pestilence
needed to be exterminated. A new and more powerful Arthropodan
Empire would rise from the human ashes and sweep across the
galaxy.
It is our destiny.

Many agreed. Crowds gathered at the prison,
demanding #64’s immediate release. Demonstrations occurred on all
five of the other inhabited planets. Finally a magistrate set bail
and allowed visitors. #85 was the first let in.

“
Your bail is being posted
as we speak,” said #85, triumphantly. “They dare not hold you any
longer. Justice will prevail.”

“
No!” said #64. “I like it
here. It gives me peace and quiet and time to think.”

“
You are kidding? Right?”
asked #85.

“
Tell my followers I will
not leave my jail cell until the new Governor resigns, admits his
collaboration with the enemy, and trades places with me,” said
#64.

“
That is not likely to
happen,” said #85. “The Governor will not trade a mansion for a
cell.”

“
Tell the Governor! Tell all
I will begin a hunger strike until the new Governor is locked up,”
said #64. “And another thing. We need to get more organized. I want
you to form a new political party. Issue members dated ID cards for
a fee. Put our candidates in place for the upcoming elections. I
will give you a list of trusted sergeants I have in mind. I want a
militia formed to enforce the will of our new party. We will call
them dragon troops. Our new party will be the Dragon
Party.”

“
I like the sound of that,”
said #85. “Dragon troops. The name alone will instill
fear.”

“
We need to send a strong
message by making some examples of our enemies. Greens are to be
pressured out of the military. Green merchants are to be taxed
extra to help pay for our activities. I want Krueger and Czerinski
killed. And, I want Waterstone destroyed,” concluded
#64.

“
It should be easy enough to
kill the human pestilence. Maybe we can even destroy Waterstone,”
added #85. “But when you talk of organizing a political party and
financing a private army, it sounds like you want to seize power.
How far are you wanting to take this?”

“
All the way,” said #64.
“The Governor and even the Emperor are propped up by a rotten
foundation supported by no one. Smash that rotten foundation, and
the whole power structure comes crashing down. But one step at a
time. First, I want some payback.”

* * * * *

Sergeant Krueger sat atop a tower overlooking
the DMZ. He was reading the news. It was boring duty. Major
Czerinski put him on light duty to assist in his recovery from
incarceration. Sergeant Krueger supposed that Major Czerinski
thought light duty was a reward for the ordeal. Truth be known,
promotion to sergeant was good enough. The spiders roughed him up a
little, but no real harm was done. It was time to just move on. So,
Sergeant Krueger endured his light duty by putting his feet up on
the desk, reading the newspaper, and relaxing as much as possible.
The newspaper blocked all view of the danger at the window.
Sergeant Krueger smiled as he thought about even getting some
shut-eye later. A busy sergeant needs his beauty sleep.

Suddenly Sergeant Krueger threw his paper
down, and stretched out his arms. What was that awful smell? It
seemed familiar somehow. Then he remembered the night Delacruz was
killed. He lurched forward in his chair just in time to see the
monitor dragon, black as coal, slip through the open window. Before
Sergeant Krueger had time to leap from his chair or reach for his
rifle, the dragon had him by the neck, cutting off his air as it
whipped him around like a rag doll. The last image Sergeant Krueger
ever saw was the red eye on the side of the dragon’s head as its
jaws tightened.

* * * * *

What was left of Sergeant Krueger was found
at 0600 shift exchange. No one had bothered to check on Sergeant
Krueger during the night. It was assumed that Krueger was safe up
there in his tower. Land mines and sensors protected the tower
perimeter. If Sergeant Krueger was sleeping, who cared? The war was
over and we are at peace. I was called to inspect the scene and
arrived at 0700.

“
He was eaten,” advised
Sergeant Green. “It was probably one of those giant lizards the
spiders keep as pets.”

“
This is no way for a
soldier to die,” I commented. I looked over the railing. “How did a
giant lizard climb the tower? Can they fly?”

“
You are from the
Southwest,” said Sergeant Green. “You have seen lizards climb
straight up walls. It’s no big deal for them.”

I nodded. I guessed it was possible. “The
question that still remains is whether this was deliberate or just
a random attack by a wild animal.”

Sergeant Green slammed his fist against the
wall. “Of course it was deliberate! Lizards are attached to spider
military units. It was a lizard that tracked and captured Sergeant
Krueger. It was a lizard that ate Private Delacruz. Remember? It
was probably the same lizard that killed Krueger.”

I tried to put it all out of my mind for just
a few seconds. I closed my eyes and sat down. Just then a sniper’s
bullet shattered the window where I had just stood. I dropped to
the floor. Sergeant Krueger’s blood soaked my uniform. Below I
could hear gunfire as legionnaires returned fire into the DMZ.
However, the sniper got away.

* * * * *

I returned to my office to clean up. Being
that we never did find our lost major, I got his job, rank, and
office. A replacement for Colonel McGee had yet to arrive, so I got
his job, too. That involved lots of paperwork, which I delegated.
General Kalipetsis put me in charge of rebuilding the DMZ Village.
General Kalipetsis was not happy with me. Apparently his visit to
Waterstone did not go well. It seems Amanda had somehow injured the
general while she was giving him a tour of the Hotel. Details were
not forthcoming, and the matter was being kept hush-hush. General
Kalipetsis was still recovering in the hospital.

Waiting in my office as I arrived was an
official from General Kalipetsis’ staff. “Major, I am glad to meet
you. I am James Yamashita, newly appointed Director of Tourism for
New Colorado. I am escorting a busload of VIPs across the DMZ on a
sightseeing tour. They’re taking a lot of pictures and stuff like
that. Your troops won’t let us cross. I have written permission
from General Kalipetsis to cross the DMZ and go anywhere I
want.”

“
It is not safe to cross the
DMZ at this time,” I advised.

“
What happened to your
uniform? Are you injured?” asked Yamashita, apparently just
noticing the blood.

“
No, I am not injured. Thank
you for asking.”

“
I hope we aren’t at war
with the spiders again,” commented Yamashita. “War would ruin
tourism on New Colorado. Do you realize how much interest there is
in traveling to New Colorado and seeing the spiders first-hand?
Ever since we all saw you on TV fighting the spiders, the public
can’t get enough of them.”

“
No. We are not at war, yet.
But there was an incident on the DMZ this morning. Travel is
restricted for now,” I explained. “It’s for your own
safety.”

“
Now what do I do? We came a
long way to take pictures of friendly spiders,” complained
Yamashita.

“
You want friendly spiders?”
I asked. “Have I got a deal for you! Go to Waterstone. There are
plenty of friendly spiders at Waterstone. They like tourists, too.
There is even a casino hotel. It’s first rate. I will write you a
pass so you can get through.”

* * * * *

Happy to have gotten his way, Yamashita
gathered up his charges and loaded them on to a bus headed for
Waterstone. They were greeted at a Legion checkpoint about three
miles from Waterstone. Private Washington asked for Yamashita’s
travel pass.

“
The bus still needs to be
searched before I can let you pass,” advised Private Washington,
after inspecting the travel pass.

The tourists filed off the bus. They all were
fascinated by the big green spider wearing a Legion uniform.
Tourists began snapping pictures of the first friendly spider they
had seen since the spider tour began.

“
How long have you been in
the Legion?” asked Yamashita, snapping a close-up photo of Private
Washington.

“
Get that camera out of my
face or I will shove it up your butt hole,” answered Private
Washington.

“
Do you have any idea who I
am?” asked Yamashita. “I am the Secretary of Tourism and a personal
friend of your commanding officer, Major Czerinski. He signed my
pass. Did you notice that? What is your name, Private?”

“
You get your odd-ball
collection of motherless children under control and back on that
bus, or I will eat them all, starting with you. I think humans are
yum-yum tasty,” threatened Private Washington.

“
Major Czerinski assured me
you spiders in Waterstone were friendly,” cried Yamashita, as he
ran for the bus.

“
You are not in Waterstone,”
said Private Washington. “You are in the desert. Everything in the
desert bites, stings, or kills. Never mess with a green spider in
the desert!”

As the bus drove away, Washington walked up
to the next vehicle. The van contained two green spiders. Private
Washington asked them for their travel pass.

“
We are refugees from the
purge going on across the DMZ,” explained the driver. “We are going
to Waterstone to start a new life. We have no pass.”

“
Why didn’t you take the
tunnel like everyone else?” asked Private Washington.

“
We were in a hurry. How
does it feel to be working for the humans?” asked the
driver.

“
I feel free and strong,”
answered Private Washington. A sensor light alarm on Private
Washington’s duty belt began flashing. Private Washington checked
the screen: HIGH RADIATION DETECTED. TACTICAL NUCLEAR DEVICE
SUSPECTED.

The same alarm flashed in Lieutenant Lopez’
office. Lieutenant Lopez ran outside to the van. Pointing his
assault rifle through the driver’s side window, Lieutenant Lopez
shot both spiders dead.

“
I sure hope that sensor
isn’t malfunctioning again,” commented Private Washington, noticing
the blood had splattered on his sleeve would be hard to wash
out.

“
You better hope the sensor
is malfunctioning,” warned Lieutenant Lopez, as he opened the van
door and threw the dead driver out onto the ground. He began
searching the van. “Find the nuke. Now!”

After a brief search, Private Washington
found the nuke in a backpack. Its timer had been set. Clutching the
backpack, Private Washington drove the van out into the desert to a
deep spider hole prepared for just this sort of situation. He
dropped the nuke down the hole, then raced for the cover of a
nearby hill. The explosion could be heard for miles. No one was
harmed.

* * * * *

#85 led the militia dragon troops up the
steps of the Governor’s Mansion. As he got to the top, he heard the
explosion and saw the mushroom cloud forming on the horizon in the
direction of Waterstone. Everyone knew what that meant. The guards
at the mansion stepped aside. #85 arrested the Governor without
incident. A few green soldiers and civilians were also arrested.
Some resisted. At the prison, #85 led the Governor to #64’s cell.
No one obstructed their path. #64 and the Governor traded places.
The event was recorded for planetary TV news.

“
What will become of me?”
asked the Governor.

“
Shoot him,” said #64, as he
walked away.

CHAPTER 24

The starship of unknown design landed next to
the Governor’s Mansion. The starship was not detected by planetary
defenses or radar because of advanced stealth technology. Startled
spider soldiers established positions around the starship. Armor
was brought in. #64 was awakened from a sound sleep and told an
‘ant-like’ creature, calling himself ‘Prince Tak of the Formicidaen
Empire,’ had landed in Governors’ Square and asked for an audience
with the Governor of Inhabited Planet #6. The ‘ant’ then asked for
#64 by name. #64 was already seated at a large conference table
with #85 to his right when Prince Tak and his smaller attendants
entered.

“
What are you?” asked #64,
studying the mandibles and pincers of the ugliest creature he had
ever seen. Even the human pestilence paled in comparison to this
hideous beast.

“
I am Prince Tak, an
emissary of the Formicidaen Empire, located on the far side of the
Human Empire,” answered the prince. “I have been sent to forge an
alliance between our two great species against the
humans.”

“
Excuse me if I am taken
aback by your presence,” said #64. “Until now I thought we and the
human pestilence were the only sentient species in the galaxy. I
see now we are not alone.”