America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 4: Demilitarized Zone (17 page)

* * * * *

Sergeant Green had been watching the
dirt-biker through the scope of his sniper’s rifle. As the
insurgents came into range, Sergeant Green shot the dirt-biker.
Machine-gun fire raked the Toyotas. When the shooting was over, the
Toyotas had so many holes in them, they were barely recognizable as
trucks.

Captain Lopez walked through the debris,
looking for anything of value to Military Intelligence. He
estimated they had killed at least eight spider insurgents, but
their body parts were everywhere, making the count difficult.
Captain Lopez collected IDs, weapons, and communications devices.
In one such device he found a text message saying that the spider
commander for New Gobi would be in this sector soon. The spider
commander wanted to know what Colonel Czerinski was up to, and
promised to bring newer and better weapons.

Back to Table of Contents

Chapter 15

John Hume Ross drove his jeep at breakneck
speed to the town of Yellow Brick, intent on sounding the alarm. In
violation of all local agreements, an Arthropodan marine task force
of mechanized infantry was just down the road, headed their way.
Yellow Brick was a mostly human enclave north of the DMZ. Although
Yellow Brick was inside the boundaries of the Arthropodan Empire,
local spider authorities had agreed not to bring large military
units to town to enforce Imperial will. Two spider constables kept
the peace and handled Imperial administrative duties. The Legion
was poised to intervene, should the human population be molested in
any way.

Now an air-raid siren sounded in the middle
of town. Radio calls for help were being broadcast to the Foreign
Legion camp to the south. More radio communications went out to
alert the local militia. A barricade hastily went up across a dry
creek bridge just north of town. Forty militia had already
assembled at the bridge and were milling around, waiting for
orders. They carried the latest Legion assault rifles and had
shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles hidden in the grass at their
feet.

The spider task force, armored cars carrying
about a thousand Arthropodan marines, stopped at the north side of
the bridge. A spider constable and John Hume Ross walked out to
greet them. The spider marine commander and his aides dismounted
and met them half way. The marine commander had been instructed to
be observant of local customs and sensibilities, but this
confrontation bordered on open rebellion!

“Good morning Commander,” said the constable,
amicably. “Why are you here?”

“It is not my custom to explain myself to the
local constabulary,” answered the marine commander. “Are you in
league with the armed human pestilence blocking the bridge?”

“Certainly not,” replied the constable. “But
there have been local agreements in place for quite some time,
prohibiting large-scale troop occupation. In exchange, the human
colonists peacefully submit to Imperial rule and pay their taxes on
time. Your presence upsets everything. I insist you go around
town.”

“Military Intelligence says your human
pestilence militia has established a substantial armory here in
Yellow Brick,” accused the spider marine commander. “I intend to
seize their armory.”

“You may not enter Yellow Brick,” said
Ross.

“You and that rabble by the bridge cannot
stop me,” said the marine commander. “Order your human pestilence
corps to yield, or you will be declared to be in open rebellion
against the Empire. My armor will crush you.”

“No,” replied Ross. “You would not dare
attack us. We are a legally constituted militia.”

“The Emperor does not recognize the right of
armed human pestilence to interfere with his marines’ duties on the
frontier,” said the commander. “You have ten minutes to disperse
and to yield the bridge.”

About that time, two Legion fighter-bomber
jets did a low fly-by. The militia waved and cheered. The lead jet
wagged his wings. Ross and the constable ran back to the
barricade.

“Spread out,” ordered Ross. “Get the
anti-tank missiles ready.”

“Are they going to attack?” asked a militia
lieutenant. “We can’t fight against armor.”

“We won’t have to,” assured Ross. “Those
Legion jets put a scare into the spiders. No one fire. Put your
weapons on safety. No one wants war, but if war starts, let the
spiders start it with the first shot. We will stand our ground here
at the bridge. Don’t worry. Time is on our side.”

The constable ran back to the police station
and tried to phone New Gobi Legion Headquarters. The line was busy.
Then he unlocked jail cell doors, releasing three drunks
inside.

“Is it lunch time already, boss?” asked one
of the drunks. “I’m not leaving until I get my coffee and
peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.”

“Get out!” yelled the constable, firing a
shot into the ceiling. “Run for your lives!”

“Who lit a fire under your spider butt?”
asked the first drunk outside. He squinted from the bright
sunlight. “Damn, it looks like the whole Chinese army across the
Yulu River!”

“You’re not that old,” laughed one of the
other drunks. “And those aren’t Chinese. They’re spiders!”

“I’m in the militia,” said the third drunk.
“I should be over there, too.”

“Find cover!” yelled the constable as he
closed the front door to the police department. The constable
opened a heavy metal trap door located under his desk and dropped
into the spider hole below. Every building in Yellow Brick, and
most on the frontier, had similar holes and tunnels under the
streets and buildings.

The spider marine commander angrily watched
the human pestilence across the bridge. They did not appear to be
dispersing as ordered. Instead, the human pestilence were digging
in. One human pestilence was even aiming a missile. The short human
wearing the sunglasses was directing the militia and yelling
encouragement. Smoke rose from the nearby hills. Obviously it was a
signal to alert more militia. The commander ordered his armored
cars to deploy along the dry creek bank and to be ready to cross
along a wide front. They would hit the militia holding the bridge,
then out-flank the survivors. The whole rabble would easily be
rolled up and done with in short order. The arrogance of these
peasants had no bounds.

When the Arthropodan armor left the road,
they struck landmines. Spider marines immediately fired machine
guns at the militia. Several missiles were fired back. One missile
damaged an armored car. The other merely bounced off sloped
protective plating. The militia retreated as the spider marines
crossed the dry creek bed and occupied Yellow Brick. The entire
brief battle was recorded on video and instantly broadcast via the
database to every news organization and TV station on New
Colorado.

Two wounded militia were captured and locked
up in the town jail. One was drunk. Three more were left dead on
the bridge. Six spider marines were wounded. A medivac air-lifted
the spider marines back to New Gobi. House-to-house searches failed
to locate the armory. Out of frustration, the commander arrested
hostages, demanding the location of the militia armory in exchange
for their release. The next morning, the two wounded militia were
executed by firing squad for treason and rebellion. At noon two
Legion armored cars arrived. Legion helicopter gunships and jets
circled in support.

“What have you done?” asked Captain Lopez,
confronting the marine commander.

“We were met with armed resistance,”
explained the marine commander. “We acted in self-defense and only
used proportionate force, as allowed by our rules of
engagement.”

“Hostage-taking and public executions are not
a part of your rules of engagement,” replied Captain Lopez. “You
will release the hostages at once, or risk war crimes prosecution
and an escalation of hostilities.”

“Very well,” said the marine commander. “I
was going to release them anyway. We cannot find the armory,
although I am sure it is here somewhere. I don’t have time to blow
up every tunnel in Yellow Brick. We are moving on.”

“Where are you going?” asked Captain
Lopez.

“The next town to be searched is Redrock,”
answered the marine commander. “You will leave, too. You are
trespassing north of the DMZ.”

“We are merely a token force,” said Captain
Lopez. “But we will stay to protect humanity from your brutal
excesses.”

“Whatever,” said the marine commander. “Your
own debauchery is well documented. I give you permission to keep a
minimal police presence here until things get sorted out. Then you
will leave.”

“I want your word there will be no more
trouble here,” demanded Captain Lopez. “The same goes for
Redrock.”

“Redrock is a civilized, mostly spider
farming community,” said the marine commander. “There will be no
problems at Redrock.”

Captain Lopez set up a headquarters at the
police station. Satellite reconnaissance indicated a large dust
storm was coming, and Lopez did not want to get caught out in the
open. The spider Task Force moved on towards Redrock. When the dust
storm hit, it moved sand dunes across the dirt roadway and reduced
visibility to just a few feet. The spider marines pressed on into
the evening. Then it rained.

It almost never rains in the New Gobi Desert.
The roadway, already obscured by sand, turned to deep mud. The
armored cars got bogged down, but were fine as long as they kept
moving. When they stopped, they sank up to their windows in yellow
mud. The Task Force was strung out for miles when it finally came
to a complete halt. The small valley they were in was becoming a
shallow lake of mud. Spider marines stood on their vehicle rooftops
to stay out of the mud and water. They scanned the surrounding
hills through the torrential rain, looking for solid high ground.
The marine commander dispatched squads to reconnoiter the hills to
establish a secure perimeter. The spiders’ pointed legs sank deep
into the yellow clay and mud. The mud clung heavily to their bodies
and limbs as they labored to climb the hills. Soon they were out of
sight of the main column.

For the last several days, the militia had
been gathering on these hills. Now Ross watched the scouts
approaching their positions. He dispatched patrols to silently kill
or capture the approaching spider marines. A few shots rang out,
but most of the spiders were easily taken. Humans, with their flat
feet, easily crossed the mud, literally running circles around the
spiders.

Now mortars and rockets rained down on the
spider task force. Exposed, immobile, and on lower ground sinking
in mud, the spiders panicked. As their armored cars disappeared in
the mud or were hit by mortars, the spider marines abandoned their
vehicles and fled back toward Yellow Brick. Militia snipers picked
them off from hills and small ridges along the route. The marine
commander, trying to direct his troops into an orderly retreat, was
killed by a sniper. The situation became more desperate as more
militia continued to arrive. Even teenaged children traveling with
their militia parents fired a few shots at the bedraggled spiders,
then went back home after their ammunition was used up.

A few spider squad leaders tried to flank the
main column to keep the human pestilence away, but it was useless.
They could not move adequately through the mud and rain. Soon a
full-scale rout was on. It was every individual for himself, and
very few spiders made it back to Yellow Brick. Those who
surrendered were executed in retaliation for the earlier killings.
A spider helicopter gunship burst through the low clouds in an
attempt to strafe militia positions. However, it was brought down
by a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile. The militia was using
the latest Legion weapons, courtesy of Legion Military Intelligence
and Captain Lopez.

A few spider marines staggered into Yellow
Brick. Captain Lopez arrested these marines and placed them in
protective custody in the city jail. They would be repatriated as
soon as spider shuttles could be called. When the rain stopped a
few days later, a battalion of legionnaires arrived. Captain Lopez
raised the American flag over City Hall and annexed Yellow Brick
into the United States Galactic Federation.

The jail got a bit crowded. About a hundred
spiders made it back to Yellow Brick. Many were injured. As Captain
Lopez sat at his desk, watching noisy prisoners through the bars,
his chair tipped over. Two spiders opened a trap door and scrambled
out of a tunnel hidden beneath Lopez’ chair. Captain Lopez drew his
pistol to confront and capture the suspected tunnel rats.

“Who are you?” asked Captain Lopez. “Explain
yourself!”

“We are Yellow Brick’s constables,” announced
one of the spiders. “Is the war over?”

“There was no war,” said Captain Lopez. “Not
yet. But Yellow Brick is no longer a part of the Empire.”

“Oh, my,” said the constable. “I guess that
means I am out of a job.”

“You are police officers?” asked Captain
Lopez. “Were you any good at your jobs?”

“Of course,” said the constable. “We have
never had a murder in Yellow Brick.”

“I’m appointing you sheriff until the
situation sorts itself out,” said Captain Lopez, washing his hands
of the overcrowded jail and leaving the building. “Good luck!”

The constable looked at all the marines
locked up in his jail. They were getting belligerent. “We are going
to need a lot more peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.”

Back to Table of Contents

Chapter 16

The desert was in full bloom from the rains.
The sandy creek north of town was still flowing. A memorial service
was held by the militia on the bridge. Ross said a few words and
threw a small wreath of desert flowers into the water. Captain
Lopez approached the militia leader.