America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 3: Silent Invasion (3 page)

* * * * *

“What went wrong in Finisterra?” asked the
Arthropodan Fleet Commander. “You assured me the human pestilence
would use restraint. Instead, they used a nuke on their own city.
Are they insane?”

“It might just be a local commander using
excessive force,” said the Special Forces Commander. “Or possibly
our team leaders gathered too many troops in one place, providing
an irresistible target.”

“Local human pestilence commanders are
allowed to use nukes that big?” asked the Fleet Commander.

“Maybe,” replied the Special Forces
Commander. “We are looking into it.”

“I thought your Special Forces units would
stay dispersed,” complained the Fleet Commander. “You were supposed
to assist the insurgency and use hit and run tactics. Instead, you
group up inside the city”

“I ordered my ground units to stay
dispersed,” explained the Special Forces Commander. “But the
insurgents prefer urban combat. My team leaders report that the
locals are afraid of the forest. They complain of monsters.”

“What idiocy is this?” asked the Fleet
Commander, losing his temper. “What monsters?”

“There are wild animals that attack in packs
at night,” said the Special Forces Commander. “We have killed
several. They are just another beast native to Earth’s forests, put
on New Colorado to control pests.”

“What are they, monitor dragons?” asked the
Fleet Commander. “I hate dragons.”

“I brought a picture,” advised the Special
Forces Commander, pulling out a photograph of a dead wolf. “We
shoot them on sight.”

“It is hideous,” said the Fleet Commander.
“Are the human pestilence training these beasts to attack our
soldiers?”

“No,” said the Special Forces Commander. “The
monsters are dangerous to humans, too.”

“Good,” said the Fleet Commander. “I will
show this photo to the Emperor when I give report. The Emperor will
not be happy if you deviate from the original plan. You are to
fight a guerrilla war from the forests so that the Emperor can deny
direct involvement. You are not to provoke the human pestilence
with large-scale engagements again. Our goal is to negotiate a
joint occupation of New Colorado without going to war.”

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Contents

Chapter 2

The Arthropodan Fleet commander and General
Kalipetsis agreed to face-to-face negotiations at Camp Alaska. The
Fleet commander landed with five shuttles and a thousand Special
Forces marines. They promptly freed about two hundred insurgents
held at the detention center, and set up a spider zone of control
dividing Camp Alaska.

My battalion was ordered to Camp Alaska. I
sat in on the negotiations. Lieutenant Lopez joined us.

“I strongly protest the landing of
Arthropodan marines,” announced General Kalipetsis. “Are you trying
to provoke a war?”

“No,” replied the Arthropodan Fleet
Commander. “Quite the contrary. I am here to stop a war. The
marines are merely a needed precaution. You will remember the last
time I was here under a flag of truce, I was attacked and
injured.”

“By occupying Camp Alaska and freeing
dangerous terrorists from prison, you hope to prevent a war?” asked
General Kalipetsis. “Excuse me if I doubt your credibility.”

“It is you who lacks credibility,” argued the
Fleet Commander. “How many prisoners have died in your gulags? We
freed those prisoners to save them from certain death at the hands
of the Legion. If they did not die from your abuse, surely the
approach of winter would have killed them all.”

“Your troops must leave,” said General
Kalipetsis. “They are a provocation and violate our
sovereignty.”

“The marines are just temporary,” said the
Fleet Commander. “I propose they stay in place only during
negotiations. We can agree that both sides will not reinforce
existing troops or commit any aggressive acts.”

“What about all the insurgents you just
freed?” asked General Kalipetsis.

“I promise to control the locals while we
negotiate,” said the Fleet Commander. “That is the easy part.”

I stepped outside and radioed the T.
Roosevelt Space Weapons Platform. “I want you to target the five
Arthropodan shuttles that landed in Camp Alaska,” I ordered.

“We can’t do that,” replied the Commander of
the T. Roosevelt. “We are surrounded by the Arthropodan Fleet. They
have threatened to destroy us if we bomb any part of the planet, or
make any aggressive moves.”

“That is a risk I am willing to take,” I
commented. “I am ordering you to destroy those shuttles. Don’t make
me come up there!”

I walked back inside to join the
negotiations. “Do you really expect us to believe you will not land
more troops or make any more aggressive acts?” General Kalipetsis
was saying. “You have broken all your promises so far.”

“Yes, I give my word,” said the Fleet
Commander. “The status quo is fine, for now.”

The loud explosions from outside rocked the
building. We peered out the windows in time to see the destruction
of the spider shuttles.

The Fleet Commander was furious. “What
treachery is this?” he fumed. “This is your doing, Czerinski!”

“I am merely enforcing our agreement per
treaty not to land large amounts of troops,” I responded. “Be glad
I used restraint. I should have bombed much more. I will, the next
time you violate the peace treaty.”

“You human pestilence show time after time
you cannot be trusted,” replied the Fleet Commander.

“Now we have a new agreement on the table,”
said General Kalipetsis. “We accept the new agreement, but will not
tolerate more violations. Is that acceptable to you?”

“I agree,” said the Fleet Commander. “It is
only my desire for peace that restrains me from avenging your
belligerence.”

* * * * *

The spiders quickly put up a fence dividing
Camp Alaska to establish their zone of control. A checkpoint
controlled traffic between the zones. Corporal Tonelli and Private
Wayne drew guard duty on the Legion side that night. Their
opposites on the spider side waved at them to come over and
talk.

“Bring Spot,” said Private Wayne. The monitor
dragon had been growling across the fence all night. Private John
Iwo Jima Wayne, an ex-Arthropodan Special Forces team leader and
now a legionnaire, did not trust other spiders. “Be ready for
anything.”

As they approached the spider guard shack, a
large monitor dragon challenged them. It was restrained by a spider
marine pulling on its chain.

“Sorry if Satan scared you,” said the spider
marine, patting his dragon on the snout. “He does not like human
pestilence or traitors.”

“It will take more than a fat lizard to scare
legionnaires,” said Private Wayne.

“Pull your dragon back,” said Guido, as he
tried to control Spot. “I don’t want them to fight.”

“Of course you don’t,” said the spider
marine. “You would not want your pup to be eaten.”

Guido sized up the other dragon. Its head was
huge. Old scars covered its face. Satan was larger and more
muscular than Spot. “My dragon has many combat kills,” bragged
Guido. “Spot would tear your dragon’s throat out. That would be bad
for the ongoing peace negotiations.”

“Care to put money on your brag?” asked the
spider marine.

“How much can you afford to lose?” asked
Private Wayne. “We won’t risk a combat dragon for chump
change.”

“It could be millions,” said the spider
marine. “I have many friends who would want to take your money,
too.”

“No,” said Guido. “Captain Czerinski would
not allow it.”

“No stomach for a fight?” taunted the spider
marine. “I heard you human pestilence are squeamish. I will give
you two-to-one odds, being that your dragon is only a pup.”

“Do it,” whispered Private Wayne. “Your
dragon has seen combat. I know this marine’s dragon. He is
pampered, overfed, and fights only at sporting events.”

“I will give you three-to-one odds,”
challenged the spider marine. “That is the best offer you will
get.”

“Deal,” said Guido. “How much can you afford
to bet?”

“As much as you can afford to lose,” said the
spider marine. “My commanding officer will hold the bets.”

“All bets will be made through Bonanno
Bookies of New Memphis,” said Guido.

“What?” asked the spider Marine. “I am not
letting human pestilence in New Memphis hold my money.”

“Then the fight is off,” said Guido. “It’s
the law. We have no choice on the matter.”

“Then it is not happening,” said the spider
marine. “I knew you would find a way to worm out of the fight.”

“Ask around,” said Guido. “This much action
has to go through Bonanno.”

The spider marine conferred with his partner.
Then he made some phone calls. “I have decided to allow all bets to
go through Bonanno Bookies,” said the spider marine, glumly. “You
will lose your money, anyway.”

* * * * *

“The destruction of our shuttles needs to be
avenged,” insisted the Special Forces Commander. “There was crew
aboard those shuttles. This is like a claw slap in the face.”

“No,” said the Fleet Commander. “At least not
yet. Look at the big picture. When our mission started, we were
arguing with the human pestilence about whether our fleet should
stay in orbit. Now we are negotiating borders on the planet’s
surface. Our marines have occupied half of Camp Alaska, and we have
freed all prisoners. All this happened without a fight.”

“We cannot let them bomb us without
retaliation,” said the Special Forces Commander. “To allow their
treachery would invite more.”

“All in good time,” said the Fleet Commander.
“Camp Alaska is just a crossroads. The prize is the oil and uranium
fields. We will extend our zones of influence out from Camp Alaska
until the prize is ours. That is the mission the Emperor gave us.
We will not deviate from the Emperor’s plan. We will follow
orders.”

“Of course you are right, as usual,” said the
Special Forces Commander. “That General Kalipetsis is a fool. He
will give us what we want. It’s Captain Czerinski I worry about. I
think Captain Czerinski acted on his own to destroy our shuttles.
And it was Czerinski that used a nuke to destroy Finisterra.”

“General Kalipetsis is smarter than he
appears,” said the Fleet Commander. “But I agree. Something needs
to be done about Captain Czerinski.”

“Leave it to me,” said the Special Forces
Commander. “I will kill him personally.”

“His death has to look like an accident, or
at least from unknown causes,” cautioned the Fleet Commander. “Have
a subordinate kill Czerinski. I do not want our negotiations team
linked to the assassination.”

“I will use nerve agent dipped onto the tip
of an assassin’s claw,” said the Special Forces Commander. “Just
one scratch will kill him instantly.”

“Remember, we need to be subtle,” said the
Fleet Commander. “We cannot be linked directly to his death.”

“Czerinski has a reputation for brawling,”
said the Special Forces Commander. “In the chaos of a bar fight,
our assassin can easily scratch Czerinski. The Legion may be
suspicious, but they will not be able to prove anything.”

“Do it,” ordered the Fleet Commander. “I like
your plan.”

“One other thing,” said the Special Forces
Commander. “What do you know about this dragon fight between our
champion and some Legion dragon? I did not even know the Legion had
dragons. I am seeing fliers posted all over both sides of Camp
Alaska, announcing the fight.”

“I know all about that. I have two million
credits bet on our champion,” answered the Fleet Commander. “I
suggest you bet now before the odds increase. I have been given
complementary tickets ringside, if you want to join me.”

* * * * *

The fight was Saturday night. Privately owned
helicopters brought spectators all the way from New Memphis and New
Disneyland. Cable and Satellite TV set up to broadcast the fight
planet-wide. A stretch limousine brought Carlos Bonanno to town.
Bonanno set up a meeting with Guido and the spider marine dragon
handler. Bonanno brought both human and spider muscle to the
meeting.

“I thought the whole Bonanno Family got
whacked by the Legion in New Memphis,” commented Guido. “Obviously
we missed a few.”

“Our misunderstandings are ancient history,”
said Carlos Bonanno. “I look to the future. That is where the money
is to be made.”

“I’m listening,” said Guido. He brought
Private Wayne and Corporal Williams along, but felt uncomfortably
outgunned by the mobsters. “What is this all about?”

“I have in this vial an adrenalin-activated
poison,” said Bonanno, holding the vial up for all to see. He
turned to address the spider marine. “You will inject this poison
into your dragon fifteen minutes before the fight. When the dragons
clash, the adrenalin will activate the poison and kill your dragon
instantly. Your dragon’s throat will be torn out so fast, no one
will notice why or how the champion’s guard was lowered for just an
instant. You will dispose of the body quickly afterward.”

“I will not agree to that!” objected the
astonished spider marine. He got up to leave with the several of
his marine friends. “The arrogance of you human pestilence never
ceases to amaze me.”

“And the naivety of you spiders never ceases
to amaze me,” countered Bonanno.

One of Carlos Bonanno’s bodyguards blocked
the spider marine’s path, placing a threatening claw on his chest.
“I understand how you feel,” said the spider bodyguard. “To
compensate you for your loss, we will give you ten percent of the
take. You will be rich. This is an offer you cannot refuse.”