Read America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 2: Reenlistment Online
Authors: Walter Knight
Tags: #reenlistment foreign legion science fiction military action adventure spider aliens aliens football
“What will the Legion do in response?”
“In Disneyland the Legion declared martial
law, took hostages, established a curfew, massacred prisoners,
called in air strikes and artillery, and loosed wild vicious Earth
animals on the streets.”
“But they won in Disneyland,” argued G.E.
“The Legion will not win in Finisterra,”
promised the Emperor of the North. “We have the human pestilence
outnumbered and have better leadership. Finisterra will not be a
happy place for the human pestilence.”
* * * * *
General Electric and the Emperor of the North
decided that a massive explosion was needed to bring down the
Finisterra Bridge. Two insurgents, swimming alongside a small raft
laden with military-grade explosives, intended to deliver such an
explosion. They swam closer to the bridge in total darkness. Even
the moon and stars were shrouded by fog. Their plan could not
fail.
Corporal Tonelli, on top of the bridge,
looked over the railing. He shined a spotlight downward, but could
see nothing through the thick fog. Spot was looking over the
railing, too. His constant low growl put everyone on edge. Sergeant
Green tossed a grenade over the side. It exploded harmlessly in the
water.
Suddenly, Spot jumped over the side of the
bridge and into the water. The monitor dragon swam like a shark,
dorsal fins sticking out of the water. Guided by smell, the dragon
swam directly toward the spiders pushing the raft. The first spider
was violently pulled under by the dragon’s jaws. His scream could
be heard by legionnaires on the bridge. The second spider scrambled
to get out of the water. The dragon pulled at his leg. The spider
fought through the pain as he pulled himself up on to the raft. His
leg snapped off at the joint, causing the spider to lose his
balance and fall back into the water. This time he was not so
lucky. As the spider grabbed for the raft, Spot easily pulled him
under.
* * * * *
Tito was a spider gone crazy. A combination
of drugs and alcohol had fried Tito’s brain. Tito had always
struggled to fit in, but never quite could. Fired from his mining
job at the Singh Mine, Tito felt lost. So when the Emperor of the
North found Tito locked up at the county jail and befriended him,
and even invited Tito to join the insurgency, Tito felt important.
Once more, Tito had purpose and friends in his life. Tito would
help his new friends rid New Colorado of the human pestilence.
His insurgent friends sent Tito on an
important mission. Tito took another drink. His instructions seemed
easy enough. All Tito had to do was drive a car across the
Finisterra Bridge. Once on the bridge, Tito would press a button
that would kill all the legionnaires guarding the bridge.
The hardest part of the mission was driving
the car in his intoxicated state. The drugs and alcohol generously
provided by his friend the Emperor of the North were having full
effect. His car weaved as it approached the legionnaire checkpoint
at the bridge. Tito pressed on the gas, accelerating through a
barrier and past the legionnaires. Tito drove wildly as his car
passed by and then struck a light pole. Tito was injured by the
crash, but could feel no pain. Blood obscured sight in one eye, but
he could still see the legionnaires running up to his car. They
were yelling in their weird human language that Tito could never
hope or want to understand without a translator. As the
legionnaires approached, Tito pressed the button and yelled, “Death
to the human pestilence!”
As Sergeant Green and Corporal Ceausescu ran
up to the crashed car, they saw the spider hold up a device
attached to wire. The spider hissed. Sergeant Green pushed Corporal
Ceausescu to the side as an explosion knocked them both to the
pavement. Sergeant Green lay unconscious. At first there was
darkness. Then he could see a bright light getting closer. A
pleasant voice called to him.
I’m dead,
thought Sergeant
Green.
So this is what it is like. There really is a light at
the end of a tunnel that calls us up to Heaven. Well I’ll be
damned.
Clouds parted. The bright light enveloped Sergeant
Green. God spoke to Sergeant Green in a deep voice that seemed to
come from everywhere. “Tyrone. I am giving you wings,” said
God.
“Lord All Mighty,” said Sergeant Green,
marveling at his new wings, testing them and flapping them.
I
can’t believe I am going to Heaven after all I have done,
thought Sergeant Green. He flew up to God. “Do these wings mean I
am now an angel?”
“Oh hell no,” said God. “You are a bat!”
“I knew God was a cracker!” yelled Sergeant
Green as he tumbled downward through the clouds towards a bright
red glow. Sergeant Green could feel the heat as he fell toward
Hell. When the pain from the fire became unbearable, Sergeant Green
woke from his nightmare only to face the nightmare of reality.
Corporal Tonelli was dragging him away from the car fire. Corporal
Ceausescu lay off to the side, motionless on the ground.
“Let go of me! I am fine,” said Sergeant
Green. “Attend to Elena. Don’t let her just lie there like
that!”
After Corporal Tonelli had pulled Sergeant
Green safely away from the fire, he rushed to Corporal Ceausescu’s
aid. Sergeant Green could not move. He watched helplessly as others
attended to the lovely Elena. Then darkness took Sergeant Green
again.
* * * * *
The mansion home of Ralph Gobind Singh
doubled as a fortress. Berms prevented attack from car bombs. A
wall and fence prevented infantry attack. Armed guards patrolled
the perimeter and manned checkpoints at the entrance. General
Electric and the Emperor of the North watched the comings and
goings at Singh’s mansion and discussed how to assault such
defenses. They discussed crashing the gates with armored cars and
even an attack from the air. Finally they decided to hit Singh as
he traveled to his office at the mine.
They watched Singh’s escort convoy as it left
the mansion. As the convoy entered town, it slowed at an
intersection where an accident slowed traffic. An attractive human
female lay in the street bleeding. No police or medical aid crews
had arrived yet.
“See what assistance we can render,” radioed
Singh to the lead car. “That poor young lady looks badly
injured.”
Security officers rushed to help the accident
victims. As they approached, the injured lady fired at them with a
sub-machine gun. Spiders on the nearby roof tops fired RPGs and
automatic arms at the convoy. Roadside bombs exploded under the
escort vehicles to the front and rear. Insurgents with armored
piercing grenades attacked the convoy vehicles from the side.
Singh watched in disbelief as a spider ran up
to his limousine and threw a grenade. The long handled German
looking grenade seemed to fly in slow motion directly at Singh. A
small white parachute trailed the grenade, stabilizing its journey
to the limousine. The top part of the grenade made contact with the
armored plating of the limousine and blew a hole in its side. Singh
was stunned. He could feel hands pulling him from the limousine,
but was powerless to resist. A black cloth bag was placed over
Singh’s head as he was hauled away.
* * * * *
The spider insurgent entered City Hall at
about noon. He was disappointed to find that the building had other
uses besides just government. Today it was being used as a tavern.
On other days it was used as a church and a community center.
Seeing that most of the tavern patrons were human, he unslung his
backpack and left it under a bar stool. The insurgent ordered a
beer and gulped it down fast. Then he ordered another beer and
walked outside with it, leaving his backpack inside. The bomb went
off a couple of minutes later.
Soon the sirens of police and medical aid
first responders could be heard. Onlookers and fire department
workers rushed to City Hall to help. The Legion responded in an
armored car. They must have been close. The insurgent then pulled a
remote control device out of a pouch and pressed a button. A
massive car bomb explosion in front of City Hall destroyed the
building and killed many. The blast left a huge crater where City
Hall used to be. The Legion armored car lay on its side. Body parts
and flesh were splashed against buildings and cars. Humans cried.
Spiders hissed. The Legion began detaining everyone. Roadblocks
went up at all intersections, but by then the insurgent was far
away.
* * * * *
“Today we will be movie stars,” mused the
Emperor of the North. “And you are invited.”
“I do not want to be in the movies,” replied
G.E. He stared at the video equipment and stage props. A banner
reading DEATH TO THE HUMAN PESTILENCE hung as a backdrop to the
stage setting. “What is all of this?”
“I told you,” said the Emperor of the North.
“We are making a movie. Actually, we are broadcasting a movie in
about two minutes.”
Insurgents brought in Ralph Singh and sat him
on the floor. Singh’s hands were tied behind his back. Singh had
two blackened eyes and a broken nose. He was wearing an orange jump
suit but no shoes. The Emperor of the North handed G.E. a black
mask.
“Put this on,” said the Emperor of the North.
“We start the filming the broadcast shortly.”
“I will not wear a mask,” said G.E. “What are
you afraid of? Either you are proud of what you are doing or you
are ashamed.”
“The masks are for security reasons,” said
the Emperor of the North. “Of course I am proud of what we did
today. This is a great moment for our cause.” The Emperor of the
North walked over to the video camera mounted on a tripod. He
adjusted the focus until he seemed satisfied.
“You are a professional soldier?” asked
Singh. “How did you get mixed up with these murderers? I can tell
you are not of their ilk.”
“I am a murderer, too,” said G.E. “Do not
think I will save you or feel guilt about your execution.”
“I do not want to die,” said Singh. “But I
will not beg for my life. What did I ever do to you?”
Bright lights came on. The video filming
started. The broadcast was live over planetary cable TV. The
Emperor of the North tossed his mask aside and stood next to Singh.
G.E. stood on the other side of Singh.
“Today the North Colorado Liberation Army
will execute criminal Ralph Gobind Singh in retaliation for the
Disneyland Prison Massacre,” announced the Emperor of the North,
reading from a prepared statement. “I am the Emperor of the North.
This is General Electric. Together we will drive the human
pestilence out of New Colorado. As I speak, the Legion is being
slaughtered in the streets of Finisterra. The human pestilence,
lead by the criminal Singh, has stolen the riches of New Colorado
from its rightful owners. The North Colorado Liberation Army will
take back what the human pestilence has stolen and establish an
independent country for all spiders. The execution of the criminal
Singh will prove our resolve and will set an example for what will
happen to human pestilence who stay in the North. Criminal Singh,
do you have anything to say before you die? Do you wish to repent
for your crimes? Your death will be less painful if you do.”
“Yes, I wish to make a statement,” said Ralph
Singh. “To my wife and children, I love you. I will half my fortune
to my family. I will the rest of my fortune to Alpha Company First
Battalion of the United States Galactic Foreign Legion First
Division, Captain Czerinski, commanding officer, when the Legion
cuts off the head of the Emperor of the North and runs it up the
flag pole in front of City Hall.”
“Get me the sword,” ordered the Emperor of
the North, stunned at Singh’s defiance. “The arrogance of the human
pestilence has no bounds.”
“We do not have a sword,” replied another
insurgent.
“How about my combat knife?” asked G.E. “It
is sharp enough to saw through anything.”
“His head must be chopped off,” said the
Emperor of the North. “Not sawed off.”
An insurgent handed the Emperor of the North
an ax used for chopping firewood. “Will this do?”
“It will have to do,” said the Emperor of the
North. An insurgent dragged Singh to his knees and pulled him
forward by the hair. The Emperor of the North raised the ax and
swung it downward at Singh’s extended neck.
General Electric grabbed the ax handle and
deflected the blow. The ax stuck into the wood floor. G.E. then
faced the camera to speak.
“The criminal Ralph Singh will be ransomed,”
announced G.E. “The leadership of the North Colorado Liberation
Army will discuss what that ransom will be and relay it to the
Legion and to the Singh Mining Corporation during our next
broadcast.” The video was then disconnected.
“You traitor!” accused the Emperor of the
North. “You have ruined everything!”
“What is so wrong with our making some money
for our efforts?” said G.E., nodding to the other insurgents. They
nodded back in agreement. “How much is Singh’s fortune worth?”
“It does not matter,” said the Emperor of the
North. “If all we want is money, we are no different than common
criminals. Any ransom is nothing compared to what we are fighting
for. If we win, we get the entire North. Singh’s fortune is nothing
compared to that. Singh’s fortune is nothing compared to our
freedom.”
“If we win,” said G.E. “I say we do one thing
at a time. We ransom Singh first. That will humiliate the human
pestilence and we will get the bonus of making some nice coin on
the side. And we can use some of the ransom to help finance the
insurgency. The weapons and supplies I gave you from my shuttle
won’t last forever. We will need to buy more. And one more thing.
If you ever call me a traitor again, I will kill you instantly
where you stand. Do I make myself clear?”
The Emperor of the North looked around the
room for support. Not seeing any, he asked, “I suppose you would
have this ransom business put to a vote?”