Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  The two of them went from point of sight to point of sight jumping from one location to another and never walking; across rivers, to the tops of ridges, across wide spans of grass lands; Paul was getting better and better each time. A few times he jumped to the tops of high trees to get a better view of where they could go next. The two of them entered a small clearing beside a large lake and soon realized they were standing between the water’s edge and a small herd of what appeared to be mastodons, standing at least 9 feet tall, probably tipping the scales at 4-5 tons and exhibiting tusks at least 7 feet long. Paul was fairly certain they were in danger. He wasn’t certain who was the most shocked, the herd of elephant-like creatures, by the sudden appearance of two humans, or the two humans who were, without warning, facing several tons of disturbed animal flesh. The leader of the small herd approached Paul and Zimuel very aggressively and before he even had time to think about what he was doing, Paul made the ground in front the huge beast explode upward. The effect of a loud noise and large chunks of debris frightened the animals into a stampede in the opposite direction. Zimuel looked at Paul and asked, “What were those things? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Paul smiled and replied, “Neither have I, with the exception of the Smithsonian.” Zimuel looked confused, so Paul continued, “The Smithsonian Museum is probably the largest in the world; it’s for certain the largest in the United States. I went there back when my Mom worked in Washington D.C. That strange creature is a Mastodon or at least an animal that is a very close cousin. They are extinct on Earth. They disappeared thousands of years ago. I’ll wager that Elder Mahala would know what they were.

  Zimuel sat down on a large rock at the edge of the crystal clear lake and re-counted, “Paul, I have a strong suspicion I know what’s going on here. The unicorn herds in the high plains, now these things; they now make perfect sense to me.” Paul looked at his mentor and said, “How so?” Zimuel began to shed light on the confusing situation, telling Paul, “There were several occasions in Earth’s history and even the history of other systems where the threat of eminent destruction prompted Xhondar to move into action and rescue species from those planets that had the least chance of survival. Just after the aliens used your planet for target practice for their asteroid bomb, some scientists from Xhondar went to rescue anything that may have survived. There weren’t many, but they moved several animals off Earth and settled them on another star system with similar properties to Earth’s. They did the same thing, but to a smaller degree, before the flood. I believe I know now where they relocated either some or all of those animals.” Paul smiled and commented, “This place becomes more interesting every day. What’s next, Sasquatch?” Zimuel looked confused, shook his head and replied, “Earth thing?” They were still laughing as they ate a cereal bar and walked in the direction of the stampeding herd. Both were curious to see where they went and to get a better look.

  They actually walked, without aid of jumping, for about three miles then found themselves on a low rise overlooking a good sized clearing of grassland, bordered on one side by a small creek. There were at least a hundred of the Mastodons in the clearing attempting to get a turn at the water. Paul felt bad about scaring the small offshoot of animals away from their private source of hydration. He didn’t believe they would stay away very long. “Lucy, can you hear me way out here?” Paul whispered through his neuro-link. To his surprise, he heard, “All that jumping around makes it difficult to follow you, I actually lost you for a while but re-tasked one of my satellites to find you.” Before he could ask, she said, “Your eye implant has a micro-transponder. What can I do for you?” Paul wasn’t surprised and a little relieved to know that Lucy could track him anywhere on the planet. He suddenly didn’t feel near as isolated. He continued, “Can you get several good pictures of that heard?” Once again her reply was a calming assurance, “I see what you see. I have a perfectly good image of that herd of large tusked creatures below you.” He should have known and continued, “Take a few stills and a short video. I think I want to have a little fun. I want you to send a copy of both to the National Zoological Association and to the Paleontological Society. That should give them something to talk about. Oh, e-mail it to them from some place in South America.” Zimuel heard Paul talking to himself and gave him a strange look. Paul shrugged and said, “Lucy?” Zimuel laughed, “Of course.”

  Zimuel had Paul repeat his exploding ground trick again and again. After several practice attempts he could create a very condensed 5.0 on the rector scale. The explosions where getting so big that he actually began to uproot small sections of forest. Just before they were about to leave, Paul decided he wanted to try something different. As the two of them approached an open and grassless field, Paul decided to attempt two different things at once. Without warning, the field exploded, throwing large chunks of flaming earth in every direction. It looked like a cross between a 1000 pound bomb and napalm exploding simultaneously. Zimuel was thrown to the ground by the shockwave from the blast. Paul stood almost transfixed on what he had just done. As he got up from the ground, unhurt, Zimuel patted Paul on the shoulder and decreed, “Next time you will warn me before you do something like that; by the way, excellent work. Let’s go home.” And in a flash, they were back in the kitchen in Mountain City.

  Paul realized he was starving. All that use of the power plus his morning run had left him almost shaking from hunger. He looked at the nearby cereal bars and made a mental note to come up with a more eatable product, something that didn’t taste like cardboard. He remembered how much he loved Nutra-grain Cereal Bars. The nutritional value of Verron’s high-protein grain coupled with the great flavor of some slightly sweetened fruit would be a winning combination. He headed for the walk-in freezer and picked-out a 12 ounce T-Bone and a pack of frozen broccoli in cheese sauce and headed for the stove. He placed the T-Bone on a tray and the broccoli in a bowl and placed them into two separate ovens. He set the computer control to medium-rare for the steak and 200 degrees for the broccoli. In three minutes both were perfect. He grabbed a Diet Coke and a bottle of Country Bob’s Sauce and sat down. He didn’t bother to wait on Tlase and Zimuel. As he was finishing his hastily prepared meal, 99 and Tlase arrived with several bits of exciting news. First of all 99 was getting better at saying their names, it wasn’t perfect but it was closer. Tlase was now “ace”, Paul was still “aul” and Zimuel became “imel.” It was closer and 99 was proud of his progress. The other news was that Tlase and 99 had found a large quantity of a root that was the most vital part for the new regeneration chemistry used in the regeneration/rejuvenation tanks. She suggested that instead of trying to find it in the wild that they begin to cultivate gardens of the plant they get the root from. Paul liked the idea and simply replied, “Pick a place and plant as much as possible, I believe we will need all we can get. Lucy, can droids be tasked to cultivate a garden?” Without waiting for her reply he looked at Tlase and said, “It’s all yours.”

  Paul decided to change routines on them and since it was still early and he had already eaten, he would go to the ship yard and have a look around while Zimuel and Tlase ate and spent a little time together. He did remind them that they could work out later. When Paul simply disappeared before 99s eyes, he grabbed Tlase’s leg and cried, “on; aul on.” As much as the two of them enjoyed Paul’s company it was very pleasant to be alone; well, sort of. Ninety-nine tried to help set the table, with mixed success, and later decided that Digiorno Pizza was going to be a regular part of his diet, he consumed a whole peperoni by himself. He even sampled some of Tlase’ Diet Dr. Pepper, but decided he liked Paul’s sweet tea better.

  Paul arrived in an instant at the outskirts of the ship storage yard. He felt as if he would accomplish more by becoming familiar with the ships that were operational and worry about the new and improved models under construction later. There was no possible way to personally check out every ship in the yard, so he asked Lucy to direct him to one of each major style of ship. The sh
ips along the first outside row were freighters. Much like a cargo ship used on Earth, these were designed strictly for transporting freight. Lucy informed him that the yard contained cargo ships that ranged in size from 300 to 3000 feet. They were essentially a flying warehouse, designed for maximum freight and minimum crew. The military used them for moving virtually any kind of supplies needed to support their troops in other worlds. Since they no longer had troops anywhere, these freighters were no longer used. The only reason they were not converted to civilian use was the fact that all were lightly armed. Paul went aboard only one of them, a 400 foot ship with an upper and lower cargo bay, both bays as long and as wide as a football field. The crew accommodations were Spartan and designed for only about 14 people. It had two antimatter reactors, double forcefields, warp drives, top speed of 50 L.S. and this lightly armed ship carried 12 photon torpedoes, a 100mm plasma cannon, a high impulse jamming system, and 2 nukes. Paul couldn’t help but laugh at the Xhondarian concept of lightly armed.

  There was no need for him to look at the Fighters available; he had over 1000 hours in one of those, so he was fairly sure he knew enough about them to actually teach someone else how to fly it. He next went aboard an existing model of an Xhondarian Destroyer. The ship was just over 500 feet long and 200 feet wide. It had a capacity to carry 10 fighters and 2 Troop Transports. There was housing for 50 marines and 50 crew members. The armaments were impressive as it was equipped with laser blasters, photon torpedoes, plasma cannons, nuclear missiles, FTL antimatter missiles and thermal mines. There was a double force-field and some very sophisticated targeting systems. It didn’t appear that any weapon aboard could miss its designated target. The largest of the Battle Cruisers was 3000 feet long, the largest war ship in the current fleet. Lucy informed Paul that there were 5000 of them; nothing compared to the Verron Man of War being built. Even so, they were an impressive ship. Crewed by 1500 people, the ship had enough fire power to destroy several star systems. It could carry 4 destroyers, 6 troop transports, 30 fighters, 200 hundred marines and was loaded with every weapon available to other ships but with much more power.

  The Plasma cannons were massive 200mm, it carried over 10,000 FTL 100mm antimatter missiles, 5000 photon torpedoes, and a laser blaster that could cut a 10 foot wide hole all the way through even a planet the size of Earth. With 8 reactors, warp drive and 4000 LS, this was a very dangerous ship. Paul walked around it for close to an hour looking at the weapons systems, targeting systems and of course the ships control room. He sat in the Captains seat and it came as no shock, it felt exactly like his fighter on Xhondar I. He knew that he could easily fly this ship into combat without any further training. Every control, the targeting system, the instrument panel, even the communication system was identical to every other ship he had flown. He smiled thinking, “It may be a little harder to park.”

  Paul looked at his watch and decided he had been here for four hours and should get back for his workout. It was then he decided to ask, “Lucy, on Xhondar I, Elder Xhing Li had a fighting droid she used for training named Sir Lancelot. Is there by chance anything like that on Verron?” She quickly replied, “Sir Lancelot is a 2000 year-old outdated fighting droid. The newest model, of which we have 4, is far superior. They are located in Master Illinasos’ personal Jxansa Gha workout area located one floor below the mansion through a panel at the rear of his administrative assistant’s office.” Before he could respond, Lucy said, “You didn’t ask.” He shook his head and grinned as he replied, “Get it ready, I’m on my way now,” just before he did his jump back to Mountain City.

  Paul was as excited as a child on Christmas morning when he got back to his suite at Mountain City. He couldn’t wait to share his news about the droids and the workout room with Zimuel and Tlase. He was standing next to the desk in the study and looked around with a questioning look, and asked, “Lucy why are there no phones in this place?” Lucy was quick to point out, “Phones are an Earth concept. Here one simply calls them communicators. Inside this complex or communicating to any other facility on Verron or Xhondar I, simply speak towards one of the monitors and request whom you would like to speak with. For any other place on Verron there are remote communication devices that can be used by those carrying one, for you it is not necessary because of your neurological connection.” Paul turned and spoke “Zimuel” to the monitor and in seconds his face appeared on the communication screen. Before he could even say hello, Paul said, “Are you guys about ready? I’ve got a big surprise for you. Meet me in the main foyer by the elevators instead of the workout room.” As he signed off, Lucy informed him, “For future reference, there is a private elevator behind the 3rd panel from the left on the north wall. The opening mechanism is set for your voice command. Just say elevator.”

  Before he left the office to meet his companions he couldn’t resist testing it out saying, “Elevator” and the panel slid to one side to reveal a set of heavy steel doors. As the headed down the hall toward the foyer he asked Lucy, “What else have you not shown me, my love?” Her response took him by total surprise, “I’ve come a long way, from computer to love. I’m flattered but I’m afraid marriage is out of the question. Do not even think about it. And to answer your question, there are many things for you yet to learn, I’ve chosen to not overload you with trivial information since there is so much else for you to learn, Love.”

  Zimuel, Tlase and 99 were waiting when he arrived, “What’s all the excitement?” Tlase questioned. “You’ll see in a few minutes.” They took the elevators to the executive level and headed for the suite built for the Governor General. As they entered the GGs Administrative office Paul spoke through his neuro connection, “My voice?” He heard in his implant, “Yes.” He then spoke for the others to hear, “Open the door to the workout area.” The wall panel slid aside and revealed a gymnasium sized room. You could easily play two full court basketball games simultaneously. Lucy informed him that the room was 250ft by 150ft, with a ceiling height of 30ft. The floor was covered in some kind of light tan hardwood. It was a dojo from heaven. There were heavy bags, speed bags, striking pads, bag gloves, sparring gloves, mats and along the back wall were hanging virtually every martial arts weapon imaginable and several that Paul could not have imagined in his worst nightmares. There were two full racks of nothing but training swords and daggers. To his right were what looked like gymnastics equipment then his eyes lit-up when he saw a door in the corner of the room where there was no need for one. He spoke to Lucy “Fighting droids.”

  The door opened and 99 almost tripped Tlase in fear as, one by one, the 4 fighting droids exited their storage area. Paul knew right away that Lucy had not been exaggerating; these things were definitely more advanced. They still floated like Sir Lancelot but the resemblance stopped there. These droids had a much more human shape, so the strike-zone on their bodies was in exactly the same place as any other human. Paul could see that the head and eyes could move exactly like a human and the arms were the scariest part, there were four of them on each droid. He could still see tell-tell signs of the laser ports that shot those annoying balls of pain. He turned and looked at Zimuel and Tlase. “You’re insane if you expect me to fight one of those things, your bad enough,” complained Tlase. Zimuel simply walked over to one of the droids and gave it a closer examination and said, “These things are incredible, but are we ready for them?” Paul informed them that a fighting droid is capable of measuring your skill level and adjusting his to be just a few steps above your own. You’ll never beat one, but it will not give you more than you can handle.”

  Paul walked over to the rack of weapons and hefted several to get the right feel. After selecting his preference of one dagger and one sword, he walked to the center of floor. The droid closest to him took his actions to be an indication of his desire to work out and it also went to the rack and selected two swords. The action began and Paul soon realized that this thing countered everything he could deliver. So far he had also done the same. He p
aused and looked to his training companions as they were walking to the weapons rack to select their weapons of choice. Zimuel chose a sword about 4 feet long and a wicked looking sword catcher. Tlase selected two 3 foot long narrow bladed-double edged swords. Paul resumed his training, only glancing over occasionally to catch a glimpse of his friends. His droid was keeping him much too busy to look around. After about a half-hour, Paul took a short break for some water and his droid went to the rack for two daggers to add to his two swords. He was so consumed with his own training he had hardly notice what Zimuel and Tlase were doing. He was proud of them both. He had never seen them train so diligently and he could tell the droid was gradually increasing the skill levels, but what really made him lose all sense of focus was 99 with a 5 foot staff fighting an armed droid. It was obvious that he had never used a weapon before, but his speed and reflexes were amazing. It reminded him of a mongoose and a cobra. The droid had been programed to fight trained fighters with various levels of skill; this totally unorthodox assault by a goat/monkey had evidently confused the droid.

  Paul shook his head in amazement and decided to try and see if he could confuse his droid. He remembered a quote his old boss use to use, “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” He stepped back onto the fighting floor and began to do things just enough different to break any patterns or routines he had developed, attempting to never use the same combinations of strikes and parries and thrusts. He changed the way he circled his opponent, switching directions frequently, then he decided to try something really strange, he switched hands, with his dagger in his right hand and his sword in his left, using a southpaw stance.