America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 3: Silent Invasion (10 page)

“My ultimate goal is to see the human
pestilence swept from this sector of the galaxy,” said the Fleet
Commander. “But the Emperor still believes there is hope for
coexistence. Because I am but a servant of the Emperor, I am now
sitting here talking to you and trying to be reasonable. Arrest and
extradite the mass murderer Carlos Bonanno!”

“If you are honest about being reasonable,
you would withdraw from the oil and uranium fields of the North
before war breaks out,” said General Kalipetsis.

“Oh, get past that,” said the Fleet
Commander. “Where would you have us withdraw to? The North Pole?
The Arthropodan Empire is here in the North to stay. Get used to
it.”

“Your aggression will not be rewarded,” said
General Kalipetsis. “What goes around comes around.”

“Your slow-walking stall will not be
tolerated,” said the Fleet Commander. “You will arrest and
extradite Carlos Bonanno in a timely manner, or I will do it for
you. Now there is a precedent for you to worry about.”

“You just want us to leave New Colorado,”
said General Kalipetsis. “We will never leave. We brought life to
this planet. Before humanity came here, there was no life on New
Colorado. We terraformed a barren rock into the lush landscape you
see today.”

“You brought life to New Colorado?” asked the
Fleet Commander. “You human pestilence are so arrogant. There has
always been life on New Colorado.”

“There was never life on New Colorado until
we brought it here,” said General Kalipetsis. “Prove me wrong if
you can.”

“Oh?” asked the Fleet Commander. “If there
was never life on this planet, how do you explain the existence of
oil?” Oil is a fossil fuel. It took an abundance of life millions
of years to create the vast oil reserves of this planet. This
planet is part of the Arthropodan Empire. It has always been part
of the Empire, and it always will be.”

* * * * *

“I feel like the world is closing in on me,”
said Carlos Bonanno. “I am certain the Legion and the spiders were
in collusion to kill my brother Alfonso. And now the spiders want
me extradited to Arthropoda? That is not going to happen.”

“Maybe we can pay someone off,” said Giuseppe
Battaglia. “How about that Captain Czerinski and Lieutenant Lopez?
They took money at that dragon fight. Maybe they will take money
again and do us some favors.”

“Those two are just attack dogs for the
Legion,” said Carlos Bonanno. “We need to pay off someone like
General Kalipetsis. The General makes the real decisions.”

“But Kalipetsis is already against
extradition,” said Battaglia. “That would be wasted money.”

“It would not be wasted. Call it an insurance
policy,” said Bonanno. “We need to make sure Kalipetsis does not
change his mind. The Family has learned the hard way that we do not
want trouble with the Legion. But they can be useful if handled
right.”

“Can the Sheriff do anything for us?” asked
Battaglia. “He has been useful in the past.”

“The Sheriff goes with whoever he thinks is
going to win,” said Bonanno. “I should have killed him a long time
ago. We need to buy someone who can make things happen. Someone who
can get that Fleet Commander and the Emperor off my back.”

“You tried to kill the Fleet Commander over
Gino,” said Battaglia. “He is still upset. That’s what caused this
whole problem. Maybe you should just go away for a while so the
rest of us can do business. Go south and retire somewhere
sunny.”

“Is that what you want?” asked Bonanno,
looking about at the other Mafioso in the room. “If they extradite
me or drive me out, any one of you could be next. Think about
that!”

“Why don’t we just whack the Emperor?”
suggested Louis Gotti. “Our associates on Arthropoda are getting
arrested daily. They are plenty upset at the Emperor. If we put a
big enough price on the Emperor’s head, spider wise guys will be
waiting in line to accept the contract.”

Everyone in the room stared at Louis Gotti
and nodded in agreement. It was audacious to even suggest
assassinating a head of state. Could Gotti make it happen? The
little-known thug boss Consigliere from the docks, who mostly ran
garbage and toxic waste rackets, was suddenly talking like a Capo.
If Gotti pulled this off, he would be a Capo.

Gotti traveled personally to Arthropoda to
take care of business, attending a galactic conference on the
latest garbage and toxic waste technologies. He met with his
esteemed contemporaries in the field and came to an expensive yet
amicable agreement regarding their problem with the Emperor. The
Emperor would be whacked. However, Gotti was arrested at the
spaceport by the State Intelligentsia as he prepared to leave
Arthropoda. They picked him up for general questioning because he
was a human pestilence. After a small bribe, he was released.

* * * * *

“You will be happy to know I have been
recalled to Arthropoda,” announced the Fleet Commander.
“Negotiations will be turned over to Special Forces Commander
#1.”

“I hope there are no serious problems or
emergencies I should know about,” said General Kalipetsis. “All is
well with your family?”

“There is nothing on Arthropoda that you need
concern yourself about,” said the Fleet Commander.

“He is probably being promoted to Emperor,”
joked Lieutenant Lopez. “Think about what a bigger pain in the ass
he will be if that ever happened.”

“Do you know something about the Emperor’s
health that I do not?” asked the Fleet Commander.

“No,” said Lieutenant Lopez, trying to keep a
poker face. “I was just kidding.”

“Your attempt at humor regarding the
Emperor’s health was poor,” replied the Fleet Commander. “Do not do
it again. I am sure my recall is for routine discussions about the
progress of these negotiations.”

“I’m sure,” said General Kalipetsis, frowning
at Lieutenant Lopez.

“I meant no disrespect or ill will toward the
Emperor,” said Lieutenant Lopez as he poured champagne into tall
thin glasses for everyone at the table. “I propose a toast to the
Emperor’s health! May he always get what he deserves.”

“Here, here,” said General Kalipetsis, as
they clinked glasses.

“To the Emperor’s health,” said the Fleet
Commander. “May the Empire be rewarded for his selfless
efforts.”

“I have good news, too,” said General
Kalipetsis. “The United States Galactic Federation and the
Coleopteran Federation just signed a peace treaty. That means
reinforcements will arrive soon, including a large space
fleet.”

“I hope you are not thinking about using this
change of events or my absence to plot more aggression,” warned the
Fleet Commander. “Special Forces Commander #1 is quite capable and
authorized to use whatever force is needed to thwart Legion
adventurism.”

“When you get back here, you won’t recognize
the place,” I promised. “I expect Legion Headquarters will be back
in Camp Alaska, and your Fleet to be camping on the moon.”

“Your threats and lame attempt at humor are
also ill advised,” warned the Fleet Commander. “I remind you that
the Emperor has been in direct video communications with your
President, and has been assured that the Legion will be reined
in.”

“The President is a long ways away,” said
General Kalipetsis. “The worm has turned.”

The Fleet Commander tapped his translation
device a couple times as he departed for Arthropoda. Checking the
human database for information about worms did not help his
understanding of their slang.

After everyone left, I stayed to discuss
things with General Kalipetsis. He gave me two small boxes. The
first box contained a gold oak leaf for my promotion to major.

“You will be in charge of security for the
New Memphis area,” said General Kalipetsis. “Good luck. This is not
the only part of the planet that has problems. You will be on your
own to handle most things.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said. “Was anything you
said about a peace treaty with the Coleopteran Federation
true?”

“Not a word,” sighed General Kalipetsis. “In
fact, things are worse than ever on the Coleopteran Frontier. The
President is prepared to withdraw from New Colorado, but I talked
him out of it. I think doing so would embolden the spiders’
expansionist tendencies. We hold them here, or they won’t be held.
As odd as it sounds, the spiders may still someday be an ally
against the Coleopteran Federation. At the very least, we cannot
afford to have a war on two fronts. Things will work out here on
New Colorado. They have to. It will just take a while.”

“That’s great,” I said, doubtfully. “As long
as I don’t get killed first. I don’t think the spiders like us that
much. I know they don’t like me.”

“Some do. Some don’t. That other box is
captain bars for Lopez,” said General Kalipetsis. “He’s a real
go-getter.”

“I will hold on to these for a while,” I
said, putting the box in a pouch. “I have some issues to work out
with Lopez first.”

“Nothing serious I hope,” said General
Kalipetsis. “You two have had each other’s back for a long
time.”

“We’ll see,” I said. “He might get killed,
anyway.”

* * * * *

A bribed servant at the Imperial Palace
informed spider Mafioso ‘Big Legs’ that the imperial motorcade
would be leaving the Palace at noon for a conference at the
Coleopteran Embassy. The Emperor was concerned about rumors of a
new treaty between the Coleopteran Federation and the human
pestilence.

Along the route, Big Legs had set two
powerful remote-controlled car bombs. Big Legs had a perfect view
of the motorcade route from a fifth-floor apartment he rented last
week. Big Legs waited with his sniper’s rifle by his side. The
rifle probably would not be needed, but redundancy was Big Legs’
trademark. Another sniper hid in the bushes on a grassy berm in a
park across the street.

At five minutes past noon, the seven-car
motorcade and police escort sped down the main boulevard of
Arthropoda. Big Legs had no trouble identifying which car carried
the Emperor. The fool was waving to bystanders. As the Emperor’s
car passed, the car bomb exploded. The large armored sedan was
flipped onto its roof. Police drew their guns and charged into the
park as a second bomb exploded.

The Emperor was pulled unconscious from his
car by the Fleet Commander, who had been riding in the car behind.
The Emperor lay motionless on the ground as chaos raged around
them. The Emperor’s brother cradled the Emperor in his arms. Big
Legs fired three quick shots. All three rounds struck the Emperor’s
brother. One round went through the brother and fatally struck the
already dying Emperor in the heart. Big Legs thought about killing
the Fleet Commander, too, but had been told to only target members
of the royal family.

Big Legs left his sniper’s rifle in the
apartment and fled down the hall. He also left the outline of a
human Black Hand painted on the wall near his rifle. Taking an
elevator, Big Legs was confronted on the first floor by a lone
police officer. The officer immediately demanded to see
identification. Big Legs reached behind his back as if to pull out
a wallet, but instead drew a pistol, shooting the police officer
several times. Before dying, the fallen officer radioed for help.
Video from the officer’s helmet camera of the assassin was
immediately broadcast as Big Legs ran down an alley towards his
car. Big Legs was captured by police a few blocks away.

The Fleet Commander helped place the two
royals into an aid car. It would not do much good. Both were
obviously dead. The front of the Fleet Commander’s uniform was
covered in blood. Bodyguards escorted the Fleet Commander to an
emergency session Legislative Assembly, where he addressed the
entire Empire on TV.

“Our Emperor and his brother were savagely
murdered minutes ago on the streets of our Capital. I swear
vengeance on all those responsible. I am the sword of the Empire. I
will personally sever the heads of all involved in this cowardly
act.”

At first, Big Legs resisted interrogation. He
was resistant to truth drugs because he had already taken his own
drug cocktail. As his own medications wore off, however, Big Legs
became more pliable. Big Legs claimed to be part of a huge
conspiracy, but would only tell details to the Fleet Commander. Big
Legs desperately hoped to make a deal for his life. As unlikely as
it might seem, Big Legs thought his life could be spared in
exchange for giving up those who ordered the assassination. As Big
Legs was being escorted to the Emperor’s Palace, however, he was
struck down by a single sniper’s bullet. The sniper escaped.

Intelligentsia investigators arrested all
family members and associates of Big Legs. Big Legs’ movements and
contacts for the last few weeks were traced to his recent
attendance at the Garbage & Toxic Waste Technologies
Convention. Investigators used truth drugs to interrogate suspects
and delegates to the convention. That led to even more arrests.
Nothing came of initial reports that there was a second sniper in
the park. However, the trail of suspects and evidence eventually
led investigators across the galaxy to New Colorado. It was just as
the Fleet Commander had suspected.

By acclamation, the Fleet Commander, himself
having some royal blood, was elected Emperor by the Assembly. With
blood still wet on his uniform, the Fleet Commander accepted the
ceremonial crown and scepter. His first executive order was a
general mobilization of the military. The fleets and army were
ordered to New Colorado.

* * * * *

Special Forces Commander #1 summoned all
negotiators for a special emergency meeting. General Kalipetsis
could not make it, so I filled in.

“Have you arrested the mass murderer Carlos
Bonanno yet?” asked the Special Forces Commander, getting right to
the point.