America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 3: Silent Invasion (15 page)

“That bites,” said the human female. “Dude,
who you do you think you are?”

“Yeah, that sucks!” said the young spider.
“Who died and made you king?”

“Arrest them both,” ordered the Prince,
pounding once with his gavel. “This meeting is adjourned.”

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Contents

Chapter 12

The Emperor sat in on negotiations because he
wanted to address important issues himself. It was time to push the
Legion out of New Memphis, and he wanted to make sure it was done
right. The Emperor had pushed the Legion easily enough out of Camp
Alaska, and he did not expect much resistance here either. General
Kalipetsis was weak, and would not stand up to Imperial will. He
told Kalipetsis so.

“Louis Gotti traveled to Arthropoda to pay
assassins to kill our Emperor. Gotti was detained on Arthropoda but
released before implicated in the conspiracy. Now, I find out that
Gotti has enlisted in to the Legion in hopes of escaping justice.
Major Czerinski informs me that Gotti is a hero of the Legion and
has his protection. It is an outrage that Gotti found sanctuary in
your marauding Legion. I am outraged, and all of New Colorado is
outraged. Even your own human pestilence press is outraged. I
demand Gotti be arrested and handed over to the Empire. If you
refuse, I have ordered tank commanders in New Memphis to take Gotti
by force. Imperial marines are mobilizing as I speak,” warned the
Emperor.

“When the Legion was forced out of Camp
Alaska and Finisterra, the economic loss to New Colorado and the
United States Galactic Federation was substantial. The loss to our
prestige was greater. Gold, oil, and uranium still cannot get to
market unless brought through the Port of New Memphis. New Memphis
is the ultimate economic prize in the North, and the Legion will
not leave. Economics and pride, however, are not the driving forces
behind my decision to stay in New Memphis,” said General
Kalipetsis. “New Memphis is a large American city. It always has
been, and it always will be American. The abomination of
Arthropodan marines occupying even one small part of any American
city will no longer be tolerated. As I speak, legionnaires in New
Memphis and hidden in the forest have surrounded your troops and
are advancing. You are under arrest.” General Kalipetsis drew his
pistol and pointed it at the Emperor.

“You have started a war you cannot win,” said
the Emperor. “Your treachery will not stand. You will be tried and
executed as a war criminal.”

“I have ordered stealth starships to destroy
your capital of Arthropoda if any provocations are made by the
Imperial Fleet in orbit around New Colorado,” said General
Kalipetsis. “You cannot stop an attack on your home world. You have
always known that, yet you persisted with your violent adventurism.
Did you really expect us to put up with your foolishness
forever?”

“You are bluffing,” said the Emperor, inching
his hand closer to his sidearm. “Put your gun away. I know you will
not use it. If you dare attack New Memphis, my fleet will nuke the
entire city.”

General Kalipetsis shot the Emperor. Stunned
bodyguards just stood there, then surrendered. I directed
legionnaires to disarm the spiders and transport them off the
barge.

“Who is in charge of the Empire now?” asked
General Kalipetsis.

“Why? It is a little late for you to be
thinking of that,” replied the Special Forces Commander. “What
possible interest would you have in the succession process? You
will not live through this day.”

“I need to know who to talk to when
negotiations resume,” said General Kalipetsis. “Are you in
charge?”

“Me, the Emperor? Not likely,” said the
Special Forces Commander. “I am but a common soldier who came up
through the ranks. When will I be repatriated? Before this area is
nuked, I hope?”

“Soon enough,” said General Kalipetsis. “You
will radio your troops in New Memphis and order them to leave. I
will allow all to drive by truck to Finisterra. All armor and tanks
will be abandoned. No quarter will be given to any who stay.”

“Commanders will not obey my orders unless
you release me from your custody,” said the Special Forces
Commander. “Maybe it is you who should surrender or leave.”

“If I release you,” said General Kalipetsis,
“will you withdraw from New Memphis?”

“It is a little late to be negotiating a
peaceful resolution to the mess you caused,” said the Special
Forces Commander. “But I will do whatever the new Emperor orders me
to do.”

“How long before we find out who the new
Emperor is going to be?” asked General Kalipetsis.

“We know now,” said the Special Forces
Commander. “It is the Prince.”

“Then I will negotiate with the Prince as
soon as possible,” said General Kalipetsis.

“You are taking this better than I thought
you would,” I said. “I expected threats of vengeance and all sorts
of saber rattling. What will be the Prince’s reaction?”

“As I said before, we are all going to be
nuked,” said the Special Forces Commander. “Did you expect
less?”

“I expect you to try to talk the Prince out
of a full-scale thermonuclear exchange between our home worlds,” I
said. “It is in both our interests not to go to war.”

“As I said earlier, it is probably too late
to take back what you have done,” said the Special Forces
Commander. “It was the Emperor’s policy to push you human
pestilence as far as possible without starting a war. It appears
New Memphis is as far as you can be pushed before your
self-destructing tendencies kick in. I will strongly explain that
to the Prince.”

“And if the Prince decides to declare
galactic war?” I asked. “What then?”

“I will shoot the fool myself,” said the
Special Forces Commander.

* * * * *

The Special Forces Commander was soon
repatriated to the spider zone of New Memphis. As he entered the
Prince’s bunker at the Sheriff’s Office, the Special Forces
Commander was immediately searched and disarmed by bodyguards.
Artillery and rockets could be heard outside, but the Prince seemed
unconcerned. He focused on the Special Forces Commander.

“Well?” asked the Prince. “The human
pestilence released you? Do you have a message from them? Or were
they just feeling magnanimous?”

“Never expect mercy from the human
pestilence,” advised the Special Forces Commander. “Your Majesty.
There was a confrontation when your father demanded that the Legion
hand over Gotti and leave New Memphis. General Kalipetsis shot the
Emperor. The General now orders that we leave New Memphis. If we
call on our space fleet for help, their stealth starships will
attack Arthropoda. I advise we leave while we still can. There will
be no quarter if we refuse.”

“My father is dead?” asked the Prince. “Does
that mean I am the Emperor?”

“Yes, for now,” replied the Special Forces
Commander. “Unless there is a coup at home, you are our Emperor.
But we need to abandon New Memphis and avoid war with the human
pestilence until you consolidate your power.”

“We outnumber the Legion in New Memphis,”
argued the Prince. “Why should we withdraw?”

“We are too isolated to use our strength in
numbers,” explained the Special Forces Commander. “We can punish
the Legion by punching through their lines, but then we have
nowhere to go. We have a huge logistics problem. We cannot get
supplies and fuel to New Memphis. We have no nearby reserves. Our
troops have been reluctant to deploy in the forests because they
are afraid of wild animals. The nearest help is in Finisterra and
Camp Alaska.”

“You may be right,” said the Prince. “New
Memphis does not matter. I need to get back to Arthropoda to seize
power before the Assembly decides some senator should be
Emperor.”

“May I speak frankly?” asked the Special
Forces Commander.

“You might as well,” said the Prince. “We may
all die soon, anyway.”

“The Assembly will not accept you willingly,”
advised the Special Forces Commander. “You are too young, and they
do not yet respect you.”

“I realize that,” said the Prince. “I have
planned for this day. I have friends in place in Arthropoda who
will follow my orders. I will be ruthless to anyone who apposes me,
and reward those loyal.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the Special Forces
Commander. “I understand. May I have my weapon back?”

“Not until I leave,” said the Prince. “I have
learned a lot since coming to New Colorado. My father was correct
that the experience would be a benefit. I will shuttle to Camp
Alaska before beaming back to Arthropoda. I will take enough of the
Fleet with me to force my will on the Assembly. You will fight on
for a while, then negotiate a withdrawal to Finisterra. After you
are safely away, nuke New Memphis.”

“You are upset about the murder of your
father?” asked the Special Forces Commander. “Nuking New Memphis is
dangerous.”

“My father got too greedy, and he paid for
it,” said the Prince. “I will not be reckless with my Empire. But
to allow his murderers to go unpunished would set a bad precedent.
They might think they can murder me, too.”

“You do not fear further retaliation by the
human pestilence?” asked the Special Forces Commander. “They have
already threatened to attack Arthropoda if we use the Fleet.”

“So, do not use the Fleet,” said the Prince.
“Do it yourself.”

“Remember what the human pestilence did to
the Formicidaen Empire? The Ants as a species are almost extinct,”
said the Special Forces Commander. “It is better that we not risk
war unless we are certain about the outcome. As you said earlier,
you need to consolidate your power on Arthropoda.”

“You are right,” said the Prince. “I should
demonstrate that I put the good of the galaxy ahead of personal
matters. Send a message to their President saying so. Tell him I
will spare New Memphis. I will free all prisoners at the County
Jail. And, I will not hold grudges against General Kalipetsis and
Major Czerinski, even though they should be brought up on war
crimes.”

“You are showing wisdom beyond your years,”
said the Special Forces Commander.

“Not quite,” said the Prince. “After you are
well on your way to Finisterra, and the Legion has occupied all of
New Memphis, you will nuke the city. Place a remote-controlled nuke
at the top of the Sheriff’s Office building.”

“But what about the possibility of starting
war?” asked the Special Forces Commander. “You risk massive
retaliation.”

“We have been at war all along. It has been a
silent war. This has been a silent invasion,” said the Prince. “We
will claim the Legion set off the nuke. Remember what they did to
Finisterra? We owe them for that. The President won’t know for sure
who set off the nuke, because his own people have lied to him
before. They may be lying again, for all he knows. And he considers
the Legion to be expendable anyway.”

* * * * *

An audio/video device had been planted on the
Special Forces Commander. I listened to his conversation with the
Prince. Later I watched him supervise the placing of the nuke atop
the County Jail. When the Prince’s shuttle left, we were ready with
a SAM to shoot it down. Unfortunately, two shuttles left New
Memphis at the same time. The first shuttle was easily shot down.
The second shuttle, carrying the Prince, took evasive action and
escaped.

As ordered, the Special Forces Commander
fought on in an effort to draw in more Legion troops. Arthropodan
tanks punched through Legion lines, driving to the port, where they
damaged the docks. Lieutenant Lopez arrived as the spider tanks
were pulling back. Sergeant Green aimed an anti-tank missile at one
of the departing spider tanks. The missile hit the sloped armor and
bounced off.

“Is that the best you have got?” asked
Lieutenant Lopez.

“You can do better?’ asked Sergeant Green,
tossing a missile launcher at Lieutenant Lopez.

The tank’s turret swiveled toward them as
Lieutenant Lopez took aim. Both fired at about the same time. Lopez
and Green ducked as the explosion collapsed the building around
them. The tank caught fire. Spiders climbed out and
surrendered.

“That is how it is done,” said Lieutenant
Lopez, dusting himself off.

“Only because I softened them up for you,”
said Sergeant Green. “And still you almost got us killed.”

As Lieutenant Lopez was getting up from the
rubble to supervise the prisoners, Sergeant Green pulled him back
to cover. “Not so fast,” insisted Sergeant Green. “There is a
sniper just down the block. He almost got me earlier. He let the
others go by, then took a shot at me. I think he’s hunting
officers. It’s a good thing I like you so much.”

“You’re on my Christmas card list, too,” said
Lieutenant Lopez. Lopez used his binoculars to scan the city block
ahead. There were several two-story buildings and lots of windows
where a sniper could hide. “Corporal Tonelli and Private Stallone!
Get up here!”

Guido and Gotti crawled up to the wall
Lieutenant Lopez was using for cover. Lieutenant Lopez told them to
check the burning spider tank for survivors or wounded. Guido and
Gotti were not happy as they sprinted to the tank. Guido tossed a
grenade into an open tank hatch. As Lieutenant Lopez scanned the
buildings ahead, he saw movement and a metallic reflection in one
of the upper windows. He fired another anti-tank missile,
destroying the upstairs. The sniper’s body and rifle flew out into
the street.

Another spider tank arrived. This one was
flying a white flag. Its commander announced on a loud speaker that
they wanted to negotiate a withdrawal from New Memphis. After some
haggling, the spiders were told to get out of town by sundown.
Lieutenant Lopez called me on the radio.