America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 5: Insurgency (15 page)

“Yes, sir.”

* * * * *

“I want a cat,” said Valerie. “I do not like
being turned off when you are busy or insist on your privacy. I
think a cat keeping me company will help me pass the time.”

“What good would a cat be?” I asked. “A cat
cannot see you.”

“A cat could see me if we embedded receiver
chips in its bones,” explained Valerie. “It would be the same
technology you use to see me. Any veterinarian could do it, if we
gave him the specs.”

“You’re serious? Okay. This should be an
interesting conversation I have with the vet.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” said Valerie, giving me
a hug. “You well need to buy another transmitter. Perhaps it can be
attached to the cat’s collar.”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about using
your new technology for other applications,” I said. “Are there
more brain imprint memorials at your cemetery that would like to
interact with the living?”

“Most prefer to stay among their own,”
answered Valerie. “Especially if they knew each other before they
died.”

“There are a lot of lonely legionnaires out
here on humanity’s frontier. Do you think you could recruit some
brain imprint memorial babes? They would make perfect girlfriends
for legionnaires.”

“You want prostitutes!” accused Valerie. “Is
that what you consider me? A virtual reality whore?”

“No, of course not, dear,” I said. “But you
have to admit there is a fortune to be made if we do this right.
There are even military applications. Every soldier could have a
brain imprint adviser follow him or her into combat. The extra set
of eyes would give our troops quite an advantage.”

“Would you take me into combat?” asked
Valerie.

“No!” I replied. Immediately I knew that was
the wrong answer, but I wasn’t thinking.

“Bastard!” said Valerie. “I know you. You
just want to pimp us out to the galaxy. I wouldn’t be surprised if
you have already bought your own cemetery. You are cold and
heartless.”

“Buy my own cemeteries?” I asked, innocently.
I was stunned that Valerie anticipated my business ventures. “What
is the harm of owning a few cemeteries? Someone has to do it.”

“You did buy a cemetery!” accused Valerie,
accessing my recent real estate filings on the database. “I cannot
talk to you anymore today. Get my cat! I want an orange striped
long-hair tomcat kitten. His name will be Fuzzy!”

* * * * *

“I demand that the Legion release all
political prisoners held in your gulags,” said Desert Claw. “If you
fail to do so by the end of the week, I will destroy New Gobi City
with a nuclear bomb.”

“I keep changing my cell phone number,” I
commented. “But you keep getting through to me anyway. How do you
do that? Do you have spies working at the phone company?”

“Did you hear me?” shouted Desert Claw. “I
now have the bomb!”

“I doubt that,” I said. “And the Legion does
not hold political prisoners.”

“Check with the Arthropodan Supreme
Commander,” suggested Desert Claw. “I stole the nuke from their Air
Wing. You will find their stolen fighter crashed north of
Redrock.”

“That mayday call was you?” I asked. “You
have just one nuke?”

“One nuclear bomb is more than enough for my
purposes,” threatened Desert Claw. “Release my freedom fighters. I
will provide you with a list of who I want.”

“The United States Galactic Federation does
not negotiate with terrorists. That has been our established policy
for centuries. I am not authorized to alter our policy.”

“You had better!” warned Desert Claw. “How
about if I blow up the Queen’s birthday party? You will negotiate
or risk a galactic diplomatic incident.”

“You can kill as many spiders as you want,” I
replied. “I really don’t care how many get cooked.”

“Your President and his family will be here
soon,” said Desert Claw. “Maybe I will nuke them all together.”

“The President can be replaced. That’s why we
have a Vice President. I think the Vice President would do a better
job anyway. That’s the half of the ticket I voted for.”

“You truly do not care about the safety of
your head of state?” asked Desert Claw, incredulous. “Perhaps I
should just nuke Laika Barker. I bet you care about his
welfare.”

“I thought you were trying to negotiate
amnesty,” I said. “Don’t you know nuclear blackmail automatically
disqualifies you? It’s the law.”

“You will soon be very sorry if you do not
take my demands seriously,” insisted Desert Claw.

“If you want to be taken seriously, you need
to keep your demands reasonable. I cannot just empty the prisons of
terrorists. But, just between you and me, let’s talk money. I can
offer you a split of the Lieutenant Barker payoff if you help me
keep him alive just one more month. I can beat any offer Babloo
made you on Barker’s life, and it will be easy money. Just don’t
kill Barker, and provide me with intelligence on future plots.”

“Your money is nothing compared to the wealth
of the whole planet,” said Desert Claw. “I want it all.”

“I’ll pay fifteen million dollars to keep
Lieutenant Barker alive,” I offered. “Interested?”

“You have a deal,” answered Desert Claw,
greedily. “But I still want amnesty.”

“Only if you promise to retire,” I said.
“Your megalomaniac plots have to stop.”

“Fine,” said Desert Claw. “We have an
agreement between you and me on Laika Barker. No one else is
safe.”

“I want a truce for New Memphis and all of
the New Gobi,” I demanded. “I want no more Wheat Farmer Riots. I
have you on tape at that riot. Another indictment would skew any
chance of your amnesty ever being approved by General
Kalipetsis.”

“Agreed. The truce will last for one month
only.”

* * * * *

I called the Spider Commander of New Gobi. He
was not happy to hear from me, and seemed stressed. I got straight
to the point. “When were you going to bother telling me that you
lost one of your nukes? It was just one nuke, right?”

“How did you find out about that?” asked the
spider commander. “Have you found it?”

“Ha!” I said. “Desert Claw has your nuke and
has already threatened to blow up your Queen’s birthday party. A
fine mess you’ve gotten us into this time.”

“Any ideas on what to do about Desert Claw?”
asked the spider commander. “I am open to all suggestions.”

“Searching Redrock seems like the most
logical start,” I suggested. “I’ll send the Legion to assist, if
the local militia becomes a problem. Try to get the militia’s
voluntary support. I have already dispersed my troops so they won’t
be a tempting target for the nuke. You should do the same.
Civilians in the main population centers are being urged to
evacuate to the South unless they do business along the DMZ. The
number of checkpoints is being doubled, and we are on high alert.
What else can I do? Maybe you should cancel the Queen’s birthday
celebration. The risk seems disproportionate.”

“The Emperor has already rejected that
suggestion,” replied the spider commander. “He will not be
intimidated by terrorist rabble.”

“Not even rabble with a nuke?” I asked. “If
there is any good news, it is that the DMZ is already the most
militarized part of the planet. We have plenty of resources, and
reinforcements are on the way. We need only to be diligent and
contain the threat. Personally, I plan to be nowhere near your
Royal Birthday Party. It could be hazardous for my health.”

“I do not have that option,” complained the
spider commander. “I am charged with my Emperor’s safety.”

“I almost forgot to ask you,” I said,
changing the subject. “Are there any good pet stores on your side
of New Gobi City? We don’t have one. The closest pet store I know
of is in Finisterra, and I don’t want to travel that far.”

“Yes,” said the spider commander. “We have
one of the best pet stores on New Colorado. Are you buying a pet
monitor dragon? Be careful, they get kind of grumpy if you do not
pay adequate attention to them.”

“I need a cat,” I said. “It’s for a
friend.”

“What?” asked the spider commander. “A cat?
Snack food for your dragon? I think they have cats. They are feral
and kept safely at the back of the store in the gourmet dragon food
section. Cats are real pricy.”

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Chapter 17

Lieutenant Laika Barker lay on his bunk,
thinking about his murdered family. The more he grieved, the
angrier he got. It was time he phoned Desert Claw.

“I was wondering if I would ever hear from
you again,” anwered Desert Claw. “What do you want?”

“I want your nuke,” said Lieutenant Barker.
“I intend to use it to kill the Royal Family at the Queen’s
birthday party.”

“And I should trust you why?” asked Desert
Claw. “You betray everyone you come into contact with.”

“The nuke is worthless to you,” said
Lieutenant Barker. “You don’t dare try to move it because of Legion
and Arthropodan checkpoints. I’ll bet you buried it somewhere. It’s
only a matter of time before one of your own freedom fighters gives
you up for the reward. Give it to me.”

“You did not answer my question,” said Desert
Claw. “Why should I trust you?”

“I have killed almost everyone responsible
for my family’s murder,” said Lieutenant Barker. “Ultimately, it is
the Emperor who is most responsible, because he ordered marines to
burn out human farmers who refused to move to the South. Killing
the Emperor will finally give me closure.”

“Not good enough,” said Desert Claw. “You
think I would give a nuke to a crazy whack job human pestilence
like you? I will not be fooled again.”

“You can stop pretending you are in charge of
the insurgency,” said Lieutenant Barker. “I know you did not
orchestrate that nuke theft. I have already contacted your
sponsors, and they granted my request. They will order you to give
me the nuke shortly. I will smuggle the nuke to the Capital
Spaceport in a Legion vehicle. I only contacted you as a courtesy,
and to give you fair warning. You have been trying to play both
sides against the middle. Decide now if your loyalties are with us,
or I will kill you myself. The insurgency is bigger than all the
foreign armies on New Colorado, and all your drug dealer friends.
Understand?”

“Yes,” said Desert Claw. “I apologize if I
appeared to stray from our cause. Do not worry. We are one.”

After they disconnected, Desert Claw gave the
matter more thought.
Not only is that human pestilence crazy, he
is delusional.

* * * * *

General Kalipetsis ordered me to send an
Honor Guard company of legionnaires to the Arthropodan Capital
Spaceport at the western edge of the New Gobi Desert to represent
the Legion and to fly the colors. He ordered Lieutenant Barker to
command.

“What?” I asked. “Do you think it wise to
deploy Lieutenant Barker to the field? I am concerned about
attempts on Barker’s life because of that New Memphis betting line.
I’m also not sure he has fully recovered from his injuries.”

“Nonsense,” said General Kalipetsis. “Major
Lopez informed me that Barker’s health is fine. I am not going to
coddle Lieutenant Barker because of the actions of a few
disgruntled gamblers. We all face threats on our lives.
Legionnaires just have to deal with it. Especially officers.”

“But what of Desert Claw’s threat to use his
nuke?” I asked. “We could be putting civilians as well as
legionnaires in harm’s way by putting Barker in the middle of an
internal spider struggle.”

“The insurgency affects us all,” argued
General Kalipetsis. “There will always be risk. If you don’t think
Lieutenant Barker can be trusted to do a good job, I can always
send you.”

“No, thank you,” I replied. “I do not want to
be anywhere near Ground Zero.”

“The Honor Guard will also be charged with
protecting the President and First Lady. Did you know the President
has put me on a short list to be his next Vice Presidential running
mate?” asked General Kalipetsis.

“I did not know that. Will you be greeting
the President at the Spaceport?”

“No, I will meet the President at the
governor’s mansion. Both shuttles will land at about the same time
for a brief ceremony. A motorcade will take the President, the
First Lady, and the Royal Couple to the mansion, where we will do
lunch and schmooze with the press.”

* * * * *

The new American President was eager to meet
the Arthropodan Emperor. It promised to be a historic event.
President Michael Romney would be the first American President to
visit a foreign head of state outside of the Solar System. The
event was to be quite a political feather in the President’s cap,
and would define the tone of foreign relations for his entire term.
The press corps was following the President’s every move. The
public back home was infatuated with the prospect of the President
reaching out across the stars to royalty. How would the First Lady
and Queen Rainbow get on? What would they wear? It all was
broadcast live on Intergalactic TV and Channel Five World News
Tonight with Phil Coen.

Lieutenant Barker supervised the loading of a
heavy wooden crate onto his armored car. The nuke was secured
inside. The armored car and the rest of the company of legionnaires
boarded shuttles bound for the Arthropodan Capital Spaceport.
Security was tight. The Honor Guard set up a perimeter around the
landing pads. Already there had been a skirmish at the spaceport’s
perimeter fence. All the attacking insurgents, disguised as
Arthropodan marines, were either killed or captured.

Killing the Emperor was more important to
Lieutenant Barker than his own life. He planned to crash the
motorcade and commit suicide by detonating the nuke. He had to get
as close to the Emperor as possible. It was just a small tactical
nuke.