“Shut up and contact you superiors for instructions,” I said, as I cut off communications.
We listened on Formicidaen frequencies for Prince Tok’s instructions from the main fleet on the frontier. “This is Supreme Commander Prince Tuk. I monitored your entire conversation. I will be beaming to your location to further assess the situation. Most of the fleet will be joining you soon.”
“Sir, it would be ill advised to beam in unescorted,” said Prince Tok. “We have yet to locate the human Tenth Fleet or their allies.”
“It is all a ruse,” said the Supreme Commander. “If the humans were in strength at Coleoptera, they would have attacked you already. Hold your position. We will attack with overwhelming force once we have developed more intelligence from your sector. I do not want to over-commit our fleet while the humans are still massing on the frontier.”
“I’m still concerned about your safety,” said Prince Tok.
“Not to worry. My command ship is a prototype equipped with new stealth technology,” boasted the Supreme Commander. “It’s one of only two manufactured. Soon we will have more. I will be at your location shortly. We will avenge the attack on our home world. Destiny is not a thing to be waited for. Destiny is to be taken.”
* * * * *
I was able to locate Prince Tuk’s command ship with our star light deflection technology because we knew the approximate place and time Tuk would be arriving. Our first missile killed the Prince and his command ship. More missiles killed more ships. I demanded Prince Tok surrender. He complied. Soon shuttles transported Coleopteran troops, pilots, and crews to seize the remaining starships.
“Why are my prize ships full of beetles?” fumed Lieutenant Lopez. “These ships are mine!”
“Possession dictates ownership,” answered General Action Jackson. “Coleoptera needs these ships because now is the time to strike a fatal blow to the ant home world. Surprise will bring us victory. We leave as soon as the nukes are loaded.”
“On whose authority do you take my ships anywhere?” asked Lieutenant Lopez. “You are not a real general. You enlisted as a private in the Foreign Legion. We put you on TV for propaganda purposes only. You are nothing unless I say so.”
“You are a guest of Coleoptera,” said General Action Jackson. “I will be lenient with you because I am in your debt. These ships belong to the Coleoptera Defense Force, and we will attack the ant home world now.”
“General Kalipetsis is on the radio,” interrupted Corporal Kool. “He sounds close.”
“General, where are you?” I asked.
“I have good news and bad news,” said General Kalipetsis. “The good news is I just beamed into orbit around Coleoptera on the T. Roosevelt. We are landing troops, supplies, and weapons to assist the beetles. Would you believe there are still ants down there fighting? The bad news is we are the only Legion ship available. The rest of the Fleet is at the frontier confronting the main Formicidaen fleet. We are blocking them from attacking Old Earth. Also, the Spider Governor of New Colorado wants that prototype ship returned. He is very upset. We do not want to return the prototype ship, so make yourself scarce.”
“Can you spare troops to crew the Formicidaen ships we captured?” I asked.
“I am keeping the captured ships,” advised General Action Jackson, as he cut off radio transmission. I had not noticed it before, but there were now a lot of Coleopteran troops on the Shenandoah with General Action Jackson. “We attack the ant home world now. The attack will be led by the Shenandoah. When our mission is completed, I will return your ship.”
* * * * *
The battle for Formicidae was quick and decisive. We beamed into orbit without incident. Planetary defenses assumed we were merely Prince Tok returning in triumph from the beetle slave revolt. The Shenandoah targeted Formicidaen ships and satellites. The Coleopteran Fleet dropped hundreds of nukes. Surprise was total, destruction complete.
Formicidae was bombed back into the Stone Age. Nuclear winter made the planet uninhabitable. The Empire ceased to exist. The few survivors reverted to roaming nomadic scavengers. The Formicidaen Fleet on the frontier surrendered to the USGF Fleet. Many ants accepted an offer to join the United States Galactic Foreign Legion. Those who refused were shuttled to concentration camps in the polar regions of Coleoptera, and never heard from again. Formicidaen colonies, gathering areas for the former Formicidaen Empire’s slave trade, quickly collapsed or were seized by Coleopteran troops.
General Action Jackson appointed himself President for life of the new Coleopteran Federation. I hid the Shenandoah underneath my new hotel casino in New Colorado’s DMZ. My detached metal hand is on display in the lobby. It’s become quite a tourist attraction in the grand tradition of the Legion. I wear a new advanced prostheses hand that looks and feels almost real. Lopez and I are partners running the casino hotel. We retired from the Legion, and we are rich. The only Evil Empire we do battle with now is Harrah’s Casino & Hotel Resort Corporation. It is a challenge. Corporate lawyers are almost as scary and hard to kill as giant ants, spiders, and beetles.
~COMING SOON~
Follow Joey Czerinski and his ragtag band of profiteering miscreants in their continuing adventures in America’s Galactic Foreign Legion – Book 2 is coming soon!
~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 contact Walter Knight, please visit www.penumbrapublishing.com
America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 1: Feeling Lucky Page 18
