America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 2: Reenlistment (6 page)

CHAPTER 5

The spider regular army soldiers of Fort #6
had surrendered early in the war. It galled them that their onetime
home was now their prison. But, they had been promised by E-mail
that the first troops to surrender would also be the first
repatriated. Somehow that promise had been forgotten. The warden,
Captain Norris, promised he was looking into it. The war was over,
and a treaty was in place. It was time to go home. But Captain
Norris had not talked to them in a month, and the guards did not
seem to know or care about when they would be released. They vowed
the human pestilence would be forced to care.

Worse, the soldiers were now sharing crowded
cells with common criminals and recently arrested members of the
insurgency. Criminals could be handled on an individual basis. The
guards did not care if a prisoner’s throat was cut. But members of
the insurgency were organized, and they were fanatics. And, they
insisted everyone join their cause under penalty of death. Some
spider guards smuggled in grenades and hand guns to the insurgents.
Emboldened, insurgents killed two human guards with a grenade. The
attack ended with several prisoners being shot when the guards
stormed into the cell block. But the prison was not searched, and
the insurgents remained armed.

The spider soldiers knew that the armory was
in a central location close to their housing area. When the time
was right, they plotted to break into the armory and seize the
weapons so they could defend themselves and negotiate their
repatriation. The armory had assault rifles, machine guns, mortars,
RPGs, and unlimited ammunition. The armory was a strong point that
could be defended. The Legion would have to listen to their
grievances when they rioted. A riot was the language of the
unheard.

* * * * *

Captain William Norris found it ironic that
he was appointed warden of a spider prison, because he had once
been a prisoner of war himself. Captain Norris had been shot down
over New Colorado on the first day of the Legion counter attack
during the first spider war. General Kalipetsis thought Captain
Norris would have special insight into how to run a wartime
detention center. The general was wrong. Captain Norris found
prison administration stressful and depressing. The prison had been
a spider military base. Many of the dungeon-like cells were
underground. Captain Norris spent most of his time in his office,
avoiding contact with prisoners and letting his spider and
legionnaire guards run the prison as they saw fit. The guards had
no experience running a prison, so they ran it poorly. The Captain
would get lost in his own prison if Sergeant Mendoza was not with
him as an escort.

Captain Norris could hear explosions and
fighting coming from Disneyland. That is where Captain Norris
longed to be. Combat was the road to promotion, not babysitting
spiders at this prison. He had been briefed on the next batch of
prisoners arriving now, and on the rescue of Private Tonelli. The
press would be here soon. For now, Captain Norris was required to
leave the comfort of his office and assist with screening and
interrogation of the new prisoners.

Capatin Norris and Sergeant Mendoza greeted
the twenty-seven new prisoners in the day room next to the cell
blocks. Spider prisoners were already calling out to the new
arrivals and jeering the legionnaires. That was another thing
Captain Norris hated. It seemed like the noise of prison was
constant.

“Who is the ranking spider?” asked Captain
Norris.

“I am Dragon Leader #7,” said a spider,
stepping forward. “You human pestilence will all die. God is with
us.” The other spiders cheered.

“You let one legionnaire capture you,” said
Captain Norris. “You don’t seem so tough.”

“Tough enough,” said the dragon leader, as he
spit on Captain Norris.

Captain Norris drew his pistol and struck the
dragon leader in the face, knocking him to the ground. The other
spiders pressed forward.

“Fix bayonets,” ordered Sergeant Green to his
squad. They forced the agitated spider prisoners back against the
cell blocks. The spiders in the cell blocks were now yelling and
throwing debris. Someone lit a blanket on fire.

“We need to separate these prisoners and
interrogate them one at a time,” suggested Sergeant Mendoza,
sensing they were losing control. “It is more effective that
way.”

As the dragon leader picked himself up, he
drew a large combat knife and slashed Captain Norris across the
forearm and chest. Captain Norris just stood there in disbelief.
Blood stained his uniform. Sergeant Mendoza shot the dragon leader
several times. A grenade was thrown at Captain Norris from the
crowd of newly captured spiders. It exploded, throwing Captain
Norris into the air. Sergeant Green’s squad opened fire, killing
all twenty-seven prisoners. Several legionnaire and spider guards
went down. Prisoners in the cell blocks threw grenades and fired
pistols, forcing the legionnaires to retreat from the cell block
area.

* * * * *

The explosions and small arms fire were the
signal the captive Arthropodan soldiers had been waiting for. A
sergeant grabbed one of the common criminals and hung him by the
neck from a light fixture. Then he yelled to a spider guard down
the hall that someone was attempting suicide. They all yelled and
pleaded for the guard to do something. The spider guard, already
wary because of the sound of fighting in another part of the
prison, refused to go inside the cell block. He ordered the
prisoners to get the hanging spider down. However, as the guard
watched, he got too close to the bars. The sergeant grabbed the
guard and pulled him in close to be gutted. After obtaining the
keys, the sergeant released the cell block inmates and led his
spider soldiers down the hallway to the armory.

* * * * *

The Lion of the Forest and three hundred
freedom fighters dug their way up into the prison cell block area,
only to find a battle already in progress. He was amazed to find
the Legion already in retreat. The Lion of the Forest deployed his
heavily armed fighters to strategic strong points. Machine guns and
anti-tank missiles were put to good use. They had the advantage of
commanding the high ground. The retreating legionnaires still were
not safe, even after their retreat to the perimeter, because of
spider snipers. A column of armored cars entered the prison gates
and was quickly destroyed by anti-tank missiles. It appeared that
in a few minutes the insurgents would overwhelm the Legion
positions.

* * * * *

Lieutenant Lopez and I entered the prison
gates with a column of armored cars. We thought we were arriving to
assist with a press release for Guido. The Legion had a new hero,
and his promotion and medal ceremony was going to be broadcast on
TV. An anti-tank missile struck the first armored car. Flames
forced its evacuation. We returned fire with cannon and mounted
machine guns, but were forced back when another armored car was
hit.

“Hell of a way to run a prison,” said
Lieutenant Lopez, as we jumped out of our burning armored car and
ducked behind a wall.

I radioed to the T. Roosevelt Space Weapons
Platform. “I need air support! The spiders have seized the entire
Disneyland prison. We have lost at least two armored cars to
anti-tank missiles and are outnumbered. The situation is dire.”

The T Roosevelt used its space cannon to drop
500 pound bombs on the prison. Helicopter gunships rocketed the
prison, followed by fighter jets dropping napalm. A tank was used
to secure the front gate. Its cannon fired into the upper cell
block areas. I poked my head over a wall for a look. Plenty of
spiders were still shooting back. The prison walls were too thick
to do much damage to the spider positions. They kept shooting, then
ducking behind thick walls or back to the tunnels.

I asked air support to drop bunker-busting
bombs. These bombs would burrow deep into the ground and bunkers
before exploding. They had immediate effect. One of the bombs was
accidentally dropped on our tank at the front gate, causing more
confusion.

* * * * *

By the second day, the surface buildings of
the prison had been reduced to rubble by continuous bombardment.
The spiders still controlled the underground areas and would pop up
and shoot at anyone who moved. We brought in another tank. I
followed the tank with a platoon. We planted an American flag on
top of the great mound of rubble, but the spiders still fought on
from the tunnels.

I radioed the T Roosevelt again. “We are
inside the prison again with another tank,” I reported. “Stop
bombing. We only have one tank left, and we don’t need you wrecking
that one too.”

“Sorry about that,” said the new cannon
specialist. “There must have been a miscommunication. It was the
air force, not me, that hit your tank.”

“Where is Sergeant Mendoza?” I asked.
“Mendoza usually operates the space cannon.”

“Sergeant Mendoza should be down there with
you,” replied the cannon specialist.

“Oh. I’ll look for him,” I said. “He is
probably on the other side of the prison.”

“There is some good news. You should now have
cell phone service to Disneyland,” said the cannon specialist. “Is
there anyone there you need to contact for supply or
re-enforcements?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact there is,” I said,
entering the number on my cell phone.

“Good afternoon, Pizza Hut,” answered a young
spider. “How may I help you today?”

“I want to order five hundred extra-large
pepperoni and sausage pizzas,” I said. “Put it on my card. Do you
deliver?”

“We most certainly do,” said the young
spider. “And we also guarantee hot delivery.”

“Oh hell no,” said Sergeant Green. “I do not
eat pork.”

“You aren’t Muslim, are you?” I asked.

“Get real,” responded Sergeant Green. “Pork
makes me deathly ill.”

“I want to change that order,” I said to
Pizza Hut. “Make that 499 extra large pepperoni and sausage pizzas
and one vegetarian pizza with extra cheese.”

“Do you want mushrooms?” asked the
spider.

“No. I hate mushrooms,” I said. “And I want
five hundred large bottles of Coke.”

“Sorry, we don’t have Coke,” advised the
spider. “Is Pepsi okay?”

“Fine,” I said. “Deliver my order to the
front gate of the prison.”

“The prison?” asked the young spider. “I have
been hearing loud explosions all day coming from your direction.
There have been rumors of a riot from the conveys of troops passing
by. Is it safe?”

“Oh sure,” I said. “You know those air force
geeks. They are always practicing blowing something up. Sometimes
it keeps us awake at night.”

“Well okay, if you say everything is
alright,” said the spider. “Let me just say that Pizza Hut
appreciates your large order.”

When the pizza truck arrived, I gave the
driver a big tip. I mentioned I was worried the insurgents had
mined the road, but obviously not, since he got through. “We were
starving out here,” I told the delivery spider. “You have probably
heard what happens when humans get hungry. We will eat anyone.”

“I have to go now,” said the delivery spider,
running back to his truck. “I quit this job! It’s not worth it for
minimum wage!”

The bombing stopped so we could finish lunch.
Lieutenant Lopez offered pizza to any spider who came out of the
tunnels and surrendered. None did. At 1600 we started throwing
grenades down spider holes and using a flamethrower to burn them
out.

“What we need is a nuke,” I said to
myself.

“Nuke?” asked Private Tonelli. “I know where
there is a nuke. I could give it to you.”

“They might consider nuking rioters a bit
excessive,” commented Lieutenant Lopez.

“I don’t see much difference,” said Tonelli,
looking out at the destruction.

“It’s good to see you, Guido,” I said. “When
this is over, you and I are going to have a long talk. Go help
Private Williams and Sergeant Green throw grenades down spider
holes.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Tonelli as he left.

* * * * *

By the third day, it was clear the spiders
were not coming out, no matter what we did to them. Even gas had no
effect. Finally, engineers redirected a nearby irrigation ditch to
flood the prison underground. No spiders survived. They all drowned
except for the Lion of the Forest and a few terrorists. They
returned to Disneyland through the tunnels.

About eight hundred spider bodies were
recovered. Most of our losses were spider guards. At the outset,
legionnaires had retreated to safety and were saved by the
quickness of the air support. Captain Norris’ body was recovered.
It had been booby-trapped with a grenade. Sergeant Mendoza was
still listed as missing in action, presumed dead and buried in the
rubble.

* * * * *

“This is Phill Coen, World News Tonight,
broadcasting live from the deadly prison riot at Disneyland, on the
planet of New Colorado. Sources tell me that over eight hundred
prisoners were killed when the Legion retook the prison. No
prisoners survived. About sixty legionnaires and spider guards were
killed or wounded. First we will be talking to the ranking officer
on the scene, Captain Joey R. Czerinski.”

“Hello Phil,” I said. “Long time no see.”

“Captain Czerinski, this appears to be
another massacre. You have been accused of massacre before,”
commented Coen. “I believe the spiders still call you the Butcher
of New Colorado.”

“That is unfair,” I said, agitated. “We
almost got wiped out when the battle began.”

“At the very least, some would say that you
used disproportionate force to quell the prison riot,” said Coen.
“You used tanks, armored cars, artillery, jet fighter bombers,
helicopter gunships, and the strategic bombing platform of the T.
Roosevelt starship. There is even a rumor you discussed using a
nuke. How do you justify using that much firepower?”