Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  As Paul stepped back into the study, he immediately asked if the drone was armed. Lucy replied, “It is only equipped with 5mm laser darts.” “Can it target ground troops?” he questioned. Lucy informed him it had advanced targeting and was capable of hitting any target at a range of one mile. Paul smiled and commanded, “Good, I want it to target this area here, pointing to the training camp, and here, indicating the perimeter of the blast area. If it’s armed, kill it.” Zimuel and Bhlani looked at Paul with ashen faces as Lucy replied simply, “Yes sir.” From the drones 2000 foot perspective you could see laser darts that looked like tracer rounds hit target after target as it circled the burned out compound. In moments, there was no one left standing. Paul’s two friends were speechless, but felt like they needed to say something. They had both been in wars, but it had been centuries since they had witnessed this much carnage. Zimuel began to speak and Paul held out his hand and replied, “Give me a half hour to decompress and clean up, then we’ll talk. I know this is cold, but I’m starved and dying of thirst. Would it be too much trouble to get me a sandwich and something to drink?” As he walked away he told Lucy, “Would you please fill them in on this mission and the last one. It’s one thing to see what I did, it quite another to know why.”

  While Paul was cleaning up, Lucy went over the news reports, encrypted communications and the satellite footage of his two missions. Both were shaking their heads in wonder as they discussed the boldness of Paul Verron and his determination to fight for the right at any cost. They were however struggling to accept that violence was the answer. As Paul came out of the bathroom clean and changed into his Wranglers and a T-Shirt, he could see the questioning looks on their faces. “Lucy, would you show the list I had you compile of the people killed in the past five years by terrorist and radical Islamist. They can look it over while I eat.” He grabbed a turkey on rye, heavy mayo, lettuce and tomato, with a side of Crunchy Cheetos and a Diet Coke. As he ate he asked, “Who made the sandwich?” Both men looked at him and shrugged. Lucy answered, “A droid.” He smiled and continued to enjoy a perfectly made turkey on rye. “I guess droids can learn to make real food,” he thought.

  Lieutenant Commander Ethridge had never been involved in such an inquisition in his entire career. The CIA, FBI, Naval Intelligence, NSA, UN Security Council and a wide variety of Naval Brass and Senate Committee members from Washington, DC were crowding an already crowded ship. This was a zoo. They began questioning first with Machinist Mate Jordan. He was standing not more than three feet from where a man dressed in complete dark gray commando gear stepped out of nowhere carrying a woman wrapped in a blanket and escorting a man dressed the same. He gently placed the woman on the flight deck and handed the man a piece of paper. He nodded at the CO3, stepped back from them and was gone. The man in the blanket slumped to the ground beside his wife and said as he looked around, “We’re the Ziglers; where are we?” He let go of the piece of paper and it was about to blow away when CO3 Jordan caught it midair. He tucked it into his pocket and raced for the Osprey preparing to take off, determined to stop them. He had followed the news on the net and knew exactly who these people were and where the Seal Team was headed. He had all but forgotten about the note until he was brought before a Commander from Naval Intelligence and once again asked to tell him exactly what happened. Machinist Mate Jordan was tired of telling people what happened, because every time he told it he felt a little more like he was completely crazy. The day after he showed the piece of paper to the Commander, a plane arrived with three men from Britain’s MI-6. One of them was a Security agent who believed he had seen the man before, another was a specialist in handwriting analysis and the third was one of those artists that draw stuff as you describe it; his description turned-out to look just like one previously drawn at MI-6. Jordan was once again interrogated, but this time the MI-6 agent revealed that the same thing had happened to him and four others. Jordan left thinking they may not throw him out of the Navy for being crazy after all. The note simply said, “JUSTICE; hostages free, bad guys dead, no Seal Team casualties.” The hand writing analysis revealed that it was in fact the same handwriting as the note written in London. However, they were completely baffled trying to figure out the origin of the paper. Paul wrote it before leaving Verron; the paper was from Xhondar I. The lab guys were going crazy; they could find no known material to match it.

  The UN people and the government of Yemen were accusing the Navy of bombing the compound in Thamud. Their investigation team on the ground there found the same level of devastation as the recent bombing in Somalia, only this time there were nearly 50 bodies in the surrounding area outside the perimeter of the blast that had perfect 5mm holes all the way through either their heart or their head. One shot to each victim, no bullet or fragments, just a consistent 5mm hole burned all the way through. The Yemeni’s were claiming they were assassinated. The various military agencies were once again trying to figure out which branch had such weapons, certain that one of the others had done it. The Ziglers were not much help. Mrs. Zigler was unconscious throughout the entire rescue. Mr. Zigler was obviously delirious when he said a man kicked down the door, killed three men in seconds with only a knife in each hand, and then carried them out the door of their cell directly onto the deck of the aircraft carrier. Wild Bill was questioned numerous times by those who still believed the Navy Seals and their drones had done the damage, after all it was their assigned mission. He had seen the note and after viewing the surveillance footage shot from the Navy/CIA drone and the pictures taken by the UN investigators, he realized that whoever did it had saved the lives of him and his Seal Team. He was thankful, but ticked off that someone had outperformed his highly trained rescue team.

  Bhlani and Zimuel left Paul’s room after reviewing news broadcasts on terrorist activities, the encrypted satellite footage and communications Lucy had intercepted and the footage of both of Paul’s operations on Earth and the data on the number of deaths worldwide due to terrorist activities. They were completely overwhelmed. When they came to realize that close to a quarter million people had been killed or injured in just five years, they really didn’t know how to respond. In a world with only a hand full of murders a year out of 70 billion people, it was hard to fathom that level of carnage on Earth with only 10% of their population. Xhondar had known peace for thousands of years. They both remembered the wars fought with other worlds and the horrible civil wars fought in Xhondar, but these were wars, soldiers fighting soldiers. There weren’t any of the needless murders of innocent women and children and unarmed civilians. They both left silently after Paul had finished eating. Bhlani didn’t even mention the motorcycle dealership idea. Paul understood they needed a little time to digest what they had just witnessed and learned. He knew there would be further discussions later. Right now he knew these two old friends would talk it over with each other and would most likely discuss it with their wives and Yadvega. He was actually relieved that his little secret was revealed, he didn’t like keeping things from people who placed just high hopes and high levels of trust in him. After they walked out the door without a word, Paul said, “Lucy, can I have another turkey on rye?” All he heard was, “As you wish.”

  It was a couple of days before there was any further discussion. Evidently by then every human, dragon and goat/monkey on Verron had heard about and seen footage of Paul’s exploits. Xhing Li had played the rescue footage over and over, each time at a slower speed to try and see just how he had killed 16 armed men in the time it would take a fast man to run a hundred yards, using only two knives. She also came by his suite one morning to see the knives. She loved the design and balance, but she also felt they should be remade in Verron Steel. She, Gljarne and Paul spent several hours in the gym with Paul trying to explain exactly how he had accomplished such quick movement. They both eventually could do it for short bursts, but could not sustain it for very long, dropping from exhaustion when finished. Paul, in a moment of pride, decided to show them
his full potential, after all, they were there to evaluate what he had learned. He, determined to establish his expertise with a weapon, armed himself with his usual training sword and dagger. He then had all four fighting droids, Gljarne and Xhing Li arm themselves. For the next 10 minutes Paul fought all six opponents. He had been practicing his technique long enough that he did not completely drain himself anymore when he did it for extended periods. He had found that as he improved, so did the droids. They couldn’t do what he did, but they learned to anticipate his moves. He could still defeat them, but it was much harder each time. When they finished, Gljarne smiled and said, through gulps for air, “I taught him everything he knows.” Xhing Li whacked him with the broadside of her sword and breathlessly added, “I have finally met someone who is better than my father. You fight like a king should.” Paul put on that devilish grin of his and asked, “Does this mean I pass?” Xhing Li whacked him with the broadside of her other sword.

  Everyone but Yadvega and 99 went out for an introduction to freestyle running. Tlase had become pretty good at it since going each morning with 99 and Zimuel. Paul decided to forgo his normal routine, join them and be sociable. He let Tlase and Zimuel lead the way on a new course that they had selected going southwest along the cliffs above the bay, headed toward Alicia Falls. Paul had never been on this route and found it as beautiful as it was challenging, while they leaped from one rock formation to the next, with the waters of the bay far below. They ran all the way to the falls, some 10 miles away, took a short rest as they admired the scenery then took a slightly different route on the return. When they walked back into the kitchen Yadvega and 99 were hard at work practicing Cronari. Paul couldn’t help but think how pleased he was that she had found something to keep her busy instead of drilling him on his language skills. He knew he needed practice, but to see the look on 99s face as he learned a new language was a real pleasure, however, he really did look ridiculous with the neurological learning probes attached around his nubby horns and pointy ears. Paul realized now that he would be next. Ninety-nine would need his friends to learn the Cronari dialect as well. He realized that this would open up a whole new world to his little buddy and determined himself to learn the language as soon as possible.

  That afternoon was going to be a guy-day-out, but as soon as Dalhia found out they were headed for the Spaceship factory to see the Gljarne Class Destroyer and check out both the old and updated ships, there was no way she was not going. So it ended up being a couples afternoon out; Zimuel and Tlase, Gljarne and Xhing Li, Bhlani and Dalhia; Paul with Yadvega. Ninety-nine wasn’t about to let Yadvega out of his sight, so he tagged along as well. Zeus decided it would be a good time to go see his other dragon friends and explain where he had been for such a long time. The nine of them boarded the ridiculously luxurious Executive Star Ship and made the trip in style. Dalhia insisted on piloting. She was the only person he knew who loved to fly even more than he did. Paul directed her to fly along the southern face of the Robert’s Range and take a pass through the mountains that cut through at 20,000 feet. There were still 40,000 feet of mountain above them to the left and right and beautiful river valleys below. This was definitely the scenic route. The pass emptied into the west end of a lower and wider valley that held the shipyard, underground city and manufacturing facility. Paul thought that before long this valley would be populated with thousands of people living and working here.

  Dalhia could not contain the excitement on her face as she landed on the executive landing pad in front of the factory’s office building. The pilot is normally the last one to exit an aircraft. Paul couldn’t help but laugh as she pushed her way past the others, determined to see what was inside those monstrous hanger doors. They wasted no time touring the offices and headed straight through the building to the security doors. Paul opened them and 99 ran to the speeder parked closest to the door and climbed in. Paul walked over laughing and reached inside to enter the security code that would render the speeder flightless. Ninety-nine stayed there until the others finished their tour. They all took a short look at the smaller and sleeker speeders but moved on the new Class X Fighter. It was Dalhia this time that quickly climbed into the cockpit. She immediately began to check out the new instrumentation and targeting systems. Paul gave her a short briefing on the improved whitematter reactors and improved weapons systems. She slowly climbed out and said, “I want one!” Paul knew that it was more than a word expressing her admiration of the fighter. He knew she really wanted one. He patted the side of the ship and asked, “Will this one do?” Bhlani jokingly commented, “I can’t believe this man is wooing my woman with expensive gifts.” Dalhia gave Paul a hug and punched Bhlani in the ribs saying, “Oh, hush, you’re just jealous because you never thought of it.” Paul realized that he had just given away a ship worth considerably more than a B-2 Stealth Bomber, probably closer to a billion dollars. He also knew that he had solidified a life-long friend and allies.

  They didn’t spend long in the Light Destroyer bay since everyone had seen the one at Mountain City, so it was off to see the ship named after Gljarne’s older brother. Lucy already had the lights on in the manufacturing bay when they arrived. Gljarne’s eyes began to tear-up as he looked at the giant destroyer. He thought that it was everything his big brother had been; big, strong, powerful and very deadly. He related to the others how it had been his brother, 30 years his senior, who had trained him in Jxansa Gha and convinced him to join the military, where he spent his tour of duty teaching hand-to-hand to the military. He smiled and gave Xhing Li an embrace, explaining, “That’s where I met my love. She was an instructor as well. We’ve been together ever since.” He immediately climbed aboard the Destroyer and Paul enjoyed going over the weapons and missile capabilities, the new reactors and showing him the hanger bay that could carry a squad of fighters and Light Destroyers. Gljarne walked to the command center and sat down in the pilot’s chair, saying, “I could see my brother flying this. He was a hell of a pilot, he nodded toward Dalhia, I believe he taught Dalhia to fly before he went to Planet ….. Verron. When it’s finished I’d like the honor of being on her maiden flight.” Paul replied, “Consider it done. I’m just glad you didn’t ask for one.”

  When they entered the hanger housing the Verron Man of War, suddenly everyone was speechless. None had ever seen a ship so massive and with as much potential ability to destroy. Yadvega asked, “How many do you plan to build?” Paul hadn’t really given it much thought before, but answered, “As many as I possibly can. All I need are people to build them and to crew them.” The others acknowledged their agreement. No one was really excited about the storage yard as they went to take a look. What was new to Paul was more than a familiar sight to those who had been crew members or passengers on some of these very ships. What they were surprised by was the sheer number of ship spread out across the valley floor. Paul decided not to show them the missile storage facility or the reactor facility, but did allow Dalhia to fly them cross country to the mining and steel mill area, the oil fields and the wheat fields. They didn’t stop and tour the facilities, but simply did a slow low altitude fly-over.

  Yadvega, being a great humanitarian, asked how soon he could begin harvesting and shipping the high protein wheat. Paul assured her it was his top priority after he began populating the planet. Bhlani, being a bit more mercenary, asked, “Yadvega, how much is wheat selling for these days?” She rolled her eyes, looked at Paul, Zimuel and then Bhlani and replied, as she nodded to Paul and Zimuel, “I have no doubt these two have already done the math.” Bhlani looked at his two friends and got a wise crack from Paul, “Do you want to be a motorcycle dealer or a wheat wholesaler?” He said nothing, but Paul knew as his representative on Xhondar I, he would soon be both; one for love, the other more money.

  They arrived back at Mountain City early and Paul asked Tlase to show all who were interested her Secret Lab and the research facility across the bay. Zimuel had seen it before; Bhlani wasn’t all that inter
ested, especially after seeing War Ships capable of destroying the entire Xhondar system 100 times over. After the others headed for the lower levels of Mountain City, Zimuel and Bhlani decided it was time to have the talk they had been postponing for the last few days. Paul was not looking forward to it. They each grabbed their favorite beverage and a hand-full of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies and headed for the terrace where Zeus usually hung out. As they walked out to gather around a small umbrella covered table, Bhlani commented, “It smells like dragon out here.” Paul looked across the terrace and saw a few scattered bones of Zeus’ last few meals. “I think I better have a talk with Zeus, its’ one thing for us to be sloppy bachelors, but something else to totally disgust our guests. I can’t imagine how my Mom will react, she complained about the mess our dog made.” Paul smiled thinking about how his Mom only did that at first, but later was his old dog “Duke’s” best friend. She’d probably warm up to a dragon just fine, but not the dead animal carcasses.