America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 3: Silent Invasion (22 page)

“What are you upset about?” asked Guido.
“Everyone, including you, made good money. What is your problem?
Pride? Ego?”

“Did that fight just happen?” I asked. “Or
was it planned? Was I manipulated?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,”
said Guido. “It was your idea to fight the Governor. All I did was
see an opportunity to make some money. That’s what I do.”

“Maybe,” I said. “You had better hope I don’t
find out otherwise.”

* * * * *

When I got out of the hospital, I was ordered
by General Kalipetsis to supervise a fair and open referendum to
decide the fate of New Disneyland. The ballot would ask whether New
Disneyland should join the Arthropodan Empire or stay in the United
States Galactic Federation. I thought the mostly spider population
would vote overwhelmingly to go back to the Empire, but
surprisingly polling data of registered voters showed sentiment to
be close. Many spiders had no desire to be ruled by an Emperor and
his Intelligentsia.

The Governor hired a public relations firm to
sway public opinion. They put advertisements on TV and radio, and
placed yard signs everywhere. There was no real organized effort by
the Legion. General Kalipetsis released a few prisoners, and told
me to make sure my legionnaires were nice to the citizenry and to
not cause any incidents. No such luck.

A few days before the referendum at 0230, the
New Disneyland Sheriff’s Office received a suspicious persons
report. What they found was legionnaires driving an armored car
loaded with stolen pro-Empire yard signs. A patrol car with two
deputies pulled the legionnaires over for questioning.

“Stealing yard signs? In uniform? While
driving an armored car?” asked one of the deputies. “Can you get
more stupid?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,”
said Corporal Williams. Williams pointed at Private Wayne. “It was
his idea.”

“The Empire sucks, and so does the Emperor,”
said Private Wayne, finishing another beer and throwing the can in
the back. “All empires suck.”

“You’re a spider,” said the deputy. “I would
think you would want to join the Arthropodan Empire so you can be
ruled by your own kind.”

“I may be drunk,” said Private Wayne. “But I
know the difference between freedom and tyranny. I do not want to
be ruled by anyone.”

“Someone has to run things,” said the
deputy.

“You humans take freedom for granted,” said
Private Wayne. “You assume the rest of the galaxy does, too. I have
got news for you. The fact of the matter is that the rest of the
galaxy is watching New Disneyland with great interest. This will be
the shot heard around the world.”

“You are confused and drunk,” said the
deputy, nodding to his spider partner. “And you are under arrest
for vandalism and elections tampering.”

Private Wayne retreated back to the armored
car. He climbed up the turret and pointed the machine gun at the
deputies’ patrol car. As the deputies jumped to the side, Private
Wayne fired about a hundred rounds into their car. Corporal
Williams jumped back into the armored car and drove away as fast as
possible. The deputies’ bullets pinged off the armored car as
Williams sped back to Legion Headquarters.

Private Wayne was prophetic when he said his
shot would be heard around the world. A dash camera mounted on the
deputies’ car recorded the entire incident. The video was broadcast
later on Cable TV, Satellite TV, Earth TV, Martian TV, Arthropodan
TV, and the Universal Database. Debate raged on the major news
networks and talk shows. Members in Congress demanded that the two
drunk legionnaires be arrested and their commanding officer be
relieved of command. Phil Coen, World News Tonight, confronted me
about the growing scandal and charges of elections tampering.

“Major Czerinski, please explain to our
viewers why your two legionnaires are not arrested and in jail for
Constitutional rights violations,” said Coen. “Or do you condone
their conduct? Can the Legion still be trusted to supervise a fair
and open election?”

“The voting will be monitored by observers
from both the Arthropodan Empire and the Legion,” I said. “The
referendum vote will be fair and honest.”

“I again ask, do you condone drunken
legionnaires stealing campaign signs and shooting up police cars?”
asked Coen. “Shouldn’t you not only avoid impropriety, but also
even the appearance of impropriety?”

“No, of course I do not condone what
happened,” I said. “But I think it is ironic that you are missing
the symbolism of what happened.”

“There is nothing that anyone could miss,”
said Coen. “The video has been played and replayed repeatedly on
all the major news networks. It is very clear your legionnaires are
guilty of abuse of their authority.”

“Private Wayne is just a poor drunk
legionnaire,” I said. “However, I think he made a very astute
comment. The analogy he drew between that incident and events
during the birth of our nation at Lexington and Concord is
extraordinary.”

“I don’t follow,” said Coen.

“Access Lexington and Concord in the database
and read about the other shot heard around the world. Private
Wayne, a spider, knows more about our history than you do. Maybe
Private Wayne was clumsy about the way he expressed himself, and
maybe he will pay severely for that, but do not think his shot was
not heard loud and clear around the world, too. In fact, his shot
was heard across the galaxy. The days of kings and emperors are
numbered. Once you let freedom out of the box, it’s not so easy to
put it back.”

Phil Coen of World News Tonight refreshed his
memory by punching Lexington and Concord into his communications
pad on the database. So did millions of other viewers.

“So you are advocating armed insurrection?”
asked Coen. “Didn’t you get enough bloodshed fighting the
insurgency?”

“You are an idiot,” I said. I then knocked
him out with a sucker punch.

* * * * *

The day before the referendum, the Governor
of the North Territory made a paid political speech on New
Disneyland TV and radio. “There has been much debate lately about
whether returning our home to Imperial rule will mean loss of
so-called freedoms you now enjoy. Nonsense. I assure you that the
Empire will respect local customs that have evolved here in New
Disneyland. My philosophy is that if it’s not broken, do not fix
it. You will continue to elect your mayor and some local officials.
Not only will you enjoy the pride of Arthropodan rule and culture,
but you will benefit from the enormous economic prosperity of the
North Territory. And, you will shed the humiliation of being ruled
by the human pestilence.”

The vote was 50.2% to 49.8% to join the
Arthropodan Empire. As agreed, the Legion pulled back to the old
DMZ. Arthropodan tanks and mechanized infantry, followed by the
Intelligentsia, occupied New Disneyland. The silent invasion was
now over, and a complete success.

###

~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~

Walter Knight

Walter played football on Tucson High
School’s last state championship team (1971). He served three years
in the army, and the GI Bill paid for his college education,
helping him earn degrees from Fort Steilacoom Community College,
Central Washington State College, and the University of Puget Sound
School of Law.

Walter lives a very quiet and private life,
residing with his family and horses, dogs, cats, and fish atop a
hill in rural Washington. Walt enjoys taking road trips to explore
ghost towns and casinos.

To find out more about
Walter Knight and his books, visit his web site at
www.waltknight.yolasite.com

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