America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 4: Demilitarized Zone by Walter Knight Page B

There were no border guards
to stop Boomers from entering the Arthropodan Empire. Warning signs
were ignored or knocked down. The first Arthropodan marine patrols
to arrive requested reinforcements and instructions. The spider
commander for New Gobi ordered the marines to defend the border and
to arrest and/or evict all trespassers.
     
    * * * * *
     
    David Miranda and his oldest son were
pounding fence posts on a hill overlooking their new ranch. Soon
cattle would be grazing on the shoulder-high grass. Prefab
buildings had gone up quickly, and his large family had already
settled in. The next major project was drilling the well. Mom, dad,
in-laws, sons, daughters, wife, cousins, brothers, and sisters all
had come with him for the free land. All that was needed was a
willingness to work.
    Miranda could see a dust trail on the
horizon. It was getting closer. As an Arthropodan marine armored
car crested the adjacent hilltop, Miranda sent his son down the
hill to warn the others and to radio for help. Miranda glanced at
his assault rifle leaning against a fence post as the armored car
came to a stop twenty yards away. Damn it, he thought. It
is too late to even think about grabbing the rifle now.
    “You are trespassing seventy-five miles north
of the MDL,” announced a spider marine team leader. “You will leave
immediately or face arrest.”
    “I am not going anywhere,” replied Miranda.
“This is our land.”
    “This land belongs to the Emperor,” insisted
the spider team leader. “The Emperor orders you to leave.”
    The team leader was about to say more, but
was interrupted by two low-flying Legion jet fighter bombers
responding to radio reports of spider marines confronting
colonists. The jets’ flyover was close enough so that the pilots
faces could be seen. They circled wide for another pass. Bolstered
by the Legion presence, Miranda felt confident he could stand up to
the spiders. “I am from Texas,” said Miranda. “And Texans do not
back down. We’re staying.”
    The spider team leader uneasily eyed the jets
as they prepared for another low-level run. He radioed for Air Wing
support. The smaller human pestilence that had run off was now
returning up the hill with a third trespasser. Both human
pestilence carried rifles. The team leader pointed to them. The
machine gunner swiveled his turret from Miranda to the approaching
human pestilence. He fired a burst of warning shots to halt their
advance.
    “No!” yelled Miranda, as he lunged for his
assault rifle. Miranda grabbed the rifle, rolled, and came up
firing on full automatic. The team leader was killed instantly.
Bullets pinged harmlessly off the armored turret. The turret gunner
swiveled back to Miranda and opened fire, cutting him in half. More
bullets hit the turret from down the hill. The machine gunner fired
at the two human pestilence approaching, killing them too.
    Soon another armored car arrived. This one
had mounted cannon. The spiders fired cannon and machine gun rounds
at the buildings below. The Legion jets might still be circling,
but appeared to have dipped low over another homestead. Arthropodan
Air Wing fighter-bombers strafed the ranch and dropped napalm.
Human pestilence ran out of the burning buildings. The turret
gunner shot the humans as they scattered, to put them out of their
misery. The spider marines cautiously advanced to search the debris
and check for survivors. None were found. A spider marine noticed a
recently beaten-down path through the high grass. He followed to
investigate. Where the parted grass ended, the spider looked about,
seeing nothing. He squatted and watched stoically for movement.
    Only inches behind the spider marine, a boy
lay hidden in the grass. The spider had almost stepped on him. The
spider could smell the boy, but could not locate him. Silently the
boy slipped off his belt and looped it around the spider’s neck.
The spider fell to the side as the boy tightened his grip,
squeezing the life out of