Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  Paul went into the kitchen and found everyone sitting around the table while 99 fixed breakfast. He thought to himself, “Drones are scary enough,” but smiled at how his friend was adapting to having humans around after being on this planet for years trying to survive all alone. He realized just how much he could probably learn from 99. He walked to Yadvega and told her, “Let’s get started. I really need to learn Cronari.” Everyone at the table looked at each other as if they were hiding something and then back at Yadvega. She sighed deeply and told Paul, “Sit down, we need to talk. You are right to want to learn Cronari. In two days if you want to carry on a conversation it will be the only language spoken.” Paul looked at the obviously sad faces and asked, “What’s up?” She continued, “Zimuel and Tlase have a few months left on their obligation to be here and see to your training. We all unanimously agree that you have exceeded everyone’s expectation and there’s really not much left to teach you.” Paul froze and felt ill. “However, before you panic and think we’re just leaving you to fend for yourself, let me tell you what we plan to do. Even as talented as you have become, we realize you can’t do everything yourself, especially as you start building up Verron by transitioning people from Earth to settle here. We are going back to inform the Council of Elders that we will be coming back here to assist you with that transition. All of us have things to get settled on Xhondar before we return. We intend to offer medical assistance, language training, pilot training, training for scientists and chemists, help organize housing and food stocks; anything that you will need help with until you get your own people trained to assume the responsibility. We can’t just leave you hear to do it alone. The people you bring here are going to be overwhelmed with what they are about to encounter, they will need help with the transition. Friends don’t abandon friends. We shouldn’t be gone for more than a couple of weeks. None us; indicating herself, Bhlani, Dalhia, Gljarne and Xhing Li, came prepared for an extended stay. There are also certain matters that need to be taken care of on Xhondar I to establish a network of trade and commerce between Verron and Xhondar. You may not realize it completely yet, but Verron will soon be a major supplier to Xhondar and we will be your largest trading partner. Seventy billion people make for a large market. Things need to be organized by people you know and trust before it begins. I hope you know that you can trust us to do what’s best for both Verron and Xhondar. The very future of Xhondar is dependent upon the success of Verron.”

  Paul sat there a moment and looked at the faces of his friends, all wondering what his reaction would be. All he said was, “Hurry back, we’ve got a lot to do.” Turning to 99 he continued, “Smells like your burning the English muffins.” Yadvega and Tlase got up to help.

  Chapter 12

  With no one but Paul, Zeus and 99 left on Verron it was way too quiet for Paul. He always enjoyed his personal time but still enjoyed the company of others. Before the others left, Yadvega had made sure he had mastered Cronari. It was a strange guttural language, with most of the sounds generated from the throat. Inflection was critical, since one sound could have three different meanings dependent upon the inflection of the sound generated. Of course, Zeus didn’t have any problems. He and 99 had been communicating since day one by simply sharing their thoughts. When Paul stopped to think about it, it disturbed him that this friend of his could truly read his mind, or the mind of anyone else that actually touched him. Then he would smile and think to himself, “This dragon knows my deepest, most intimate and often dark thoughts and still remains my friend.” He felt honored. Zeus had taken to calling him King Paul and several of his Xhondarian friends were embracing the name. Paul would now answer to it without turning red from embarrassment.

  Before she left, Dalhia and Paul spent several hours in the armory checking out exactly what was there. She couldn’t believe how much more lethal and powerful this new generation of weapons were compared to the weapons used in the last Xhondarian war. She could understand why Paul chose not to carry any of the rifles or shoulder cannons and even understood his not wanting to wear body armor; his force-field would stop anything that Earth had to shoot at him. They did find a fairly substantial supply of “conventional” weapons of Xhondarian design. Paul chuckled out loud when Dalhia referred to a golf-ball sized thermal grenade with enough power to incinerate everything within 50 yards as “conventional.” He gave up his plasma grenades and replaced them with a dozen of the little thermals and added a baseball sized cloaked drone that could be his eyes in the sky no matter where he was. He could actually see what it saw through his neurological connect. He added a Rapid Repair wand, two pair of Verron Steel hand-restraints, Instant Opening bombs; Dalhia told him to place it on any wall or floor and step back at least eight feet. The little bomb would blow a 4 foot diameter perfectly round hole neatly through steel, concrete or any other structure. They found a small backpack woven of Verron Steel Thread and he gave up his Gucci clone.

  As they were leaving the armory, Lucy told Paul to check the secret panel behind the locker containing the plasma grenades. Paul asked, “Secret panel? You never told me about a secret panel before.” Lucy in her usual manner informed him, “You didn’t need to know before. In my judgment you could use what that storage area contains.” Paul and Dalhia went to the locker which had been pointed out and Paul looked for a release or secret button to push. Lucy informed him to place his right hand on the center top of the locker. Paul looked at the surface and could see no handprint reader, but to his amazement it turned a low glowing red when he placed his hand where told. The locker moved aside to reveal a heavy steel door, complete with voice recognition and optical scan. He spoke the word “open” as he looked through the optical recognition scanner. There was a click of several heavy bolts sliding back and the door opened with a hiss of air. It wasn’t a big room; in fact it more resembled a large bank vault. There were hundreds of small drawers, like safe deposit boxes. Paul asked, “Lucy, I don’t have a key to any of these. How do I open them?” Lucy informed him, “Each drawer is coded to only one thumb print. Yours will open any of them; the rest will only open to a designated user.”

  He walked to the closest drawer and placed his thumb on the drawer release handle. A green light came on and the drawer opened easily. Inside was a polished steel box that reminded him of a Zero Mfg carrying case. He placed it on a small table in the middle of the room and opened it; this time requiring his left and right thumb print, one on each latch. When he looked inside his first impression was that it was awfully tight security for a Maglite, a Mini-Maglite and a beeper. The reaction from Dalhia was, “Good God, what has Illinasos done?” Paul looked at her face, pale from the shock of what she saw. As he reached for the 16 inch long object in the case, he asked, “What’s so scary about these?” Dalhia gently placed her hand on his and requested, “Remove it carefully and I will explain.” Paul nodded as he carefully lifted the instrument from the case. It weighed a lot more than he thought it would. Dalhia continued, “As you know the Elders are the remaining 24 of what used to be several thousand people with The Power. We all wielded the most powerful weapon known in the Universe. After the last civil war and as our numbers were reduced, it was decided that those weapons should be destroyed. We watched as they were incinerated in a nuclear furnace. Well, indicating the thing in Paul’s hand, evidently Illinasos Xhondar somehow managed to deceive us. This room is full what we thought destroyed.

  Can I see that?” Paul handed her the supposed flashlight. She pressed some kind of switch or activated a release and suddenly a light of pure energy erupted from the end of what he now could tell was a light sabre. Visions of Star Wars came to mind and he felt as if it was some kind of joke. Dalhia held the sabre in her hand and admired it with the professional understanding of a trained warrior. She went on to explain “This weapon was considered the most lethal and yet the most humane weapon ever created. The technology predates Xhondar and is suspected to be alien. This three foot sabre can cut through any known
metal, stone or force-field. There is virtually nothing it cannot cut. It is considered humane because it cauterizes a wound as it cuts. One can sever an arm or leg, rendering an enemy helpless, without him bleeding to death. With the technology of regeneration, even a severely injured person can be restored. It was a humane way of defeating an enemy without destroying him. But that much power was often abused and it was decided it was better to get rid of them, along with all other weapons on Xhondar, rather than have them in the hands of just a few.” She pointed at the smaller version of the sabre she now held and said, “That’s a twelve inch dagger; smaller but every bit as lethal and that little square object generates the only force-field that cannot be penetrated by the sabre. You can even practice swordsmanship in complete safety.”

  Paul asked, “May I see it?” To his surprise, she replied, “You have to get another one. This one is now programed to my hand print and DNA. It will not work for you; it’s a safety feature in case an opponent gets hold of your sabre.” She handed it to him and it was simply a dead wand. Paul handed it back and as he went to another drawer to retrieve one of his own, commented, “Well, it looks like you are now the first person to have her own personal sabre in over a ten thousand years. Don’t tell Xhing Li or she will be jealous.” He quickly opened the box and took out the sabre. Dalhia showed him how to activate it and he couldn’t believe how good it felt in his hand. He asked, “Think it will cut through Verron Steel? Nothing else has so far.”

  He hated to sacrifice a set of body armor, so he asked Lucy if there was any pieces of steel around to test this weapon on and was told that there is a stack of Verron Steel plates about one foot square in the back corner of the target room by the indoor practice range. Dalhia carefully placed her weapon back in the case and returned it to the secure drawer, saying, “Its best I leave this here. I could get in a lot of trouble if I took it back to Xhondar.” Paul nodded his understanding and, simply replied, “Just remember where you left it,” as they went to the indoor range. He grabbed one of the plasma cannons on his way to the range and then set up several test panels to use for targets. The first panel he shot with the plasma cannon and it ricocheted off the panel harmlessly. He attached the force-field from the case and repeated the shot. The panel didn’t even move and the force-field seemed to absorb the energy as much as it repelled it. He then took out his new sabre, walked over to a bare piece of Verron Steel, took a swing and it sliced through like a knife through warm butter. He attached his personal force-field to the next panel, took a swing with the same results. He was shaking his head as he walked to one last panel. This time he attached the little square box from his case to a piece of the same steel and activated the force-field, he stood back, took a good solid swing and the sabre bounced off harmlessly. He took several more swings with the same results. He then placed his old force-field unit in his pants pocket and attached the new one to his belt. He found the mechanism to attach his sabre and dagger to his utility belt and looked at Dahlia and grinned, saying, “I’m going to wear mine.” She smiled her understanding as they left to go back upstairs.

  That had been a Verron week ago, nine days, and Paul was settling into a routine with 99. He would go for his morning runs as usual, but often Zeus was circling overhead or perched on a cliff above, keeping an eye on his friend. As often as not, Paul would hitch a ride home on Zeus rather than taking a jump for his return. Several times Paul took 99 for a ride with him on Zeus but so far his dragon friend would allow no solo riders except Paul. Even as close as 99 was to Zeus, he made it perfectly clear that he served only King Verron. Paul had laid out a preliminary plan for a “Dragon House” to be built by the clearing where Zeus now dined. It was big enough to hanger a good sized commercial jet. When finished, it would have heat and doors that would open and close at Zeus’ command. He even went to the sight and staked out the dimensions to make sure it would fit in the area he had picked out. It would be built as soon as he had enough population for the task.

  Paul and 99 were doing most of their own cooking, but not always being motivated to cook for themselves, they began to use the drones more and more frequently. As long as they kept it simple, they did a pretty good job. At least they didn’t burn the English muffins like 99 had a tendency to do. Paul decided to get better acquainted with some of the existing facilities on Verron and started flying to them in the afternoons so 99 could go with him. They had a lot of interesting conversations. For example, the little four foot tall creature that he had thought of as a child was actually over 300 years old. His genetic designers had created him with not only increased mental abilities, and physical strength for his size, they had also designed longevity into his DNA. He had been living alone on Verron and knew it better than anyone alive. He also knew which animals were friendly and which ones to avoid. For some genetic reason, he was immune to the various insect and snake bites, and like a mongoose, he was quick enough to catch them. They had been one of his main food sources while surviving on the planet alone. When they would go to the Space Ship facility 99 would always head for his favorite speeder and hang out in it while Paul would familiarize himself with the other ships in various stages of construction. With the instructions he was receiving from Lucy, he felt confident that he could teach someone else how to finish building the ships.

  On their third trip to the ship factory Paul decided to try something. He had located a room filled with flight simulators, so he decided that instead of 99 sitting in an inoperable speeder, he would let him fly a simulator. At least if he crashed, it would only be in simulation, not for real. He instructed him on how to operate the simulator, and explained the function of each control and instrument. Making certain he understood that it was identical to what he would find in an actual speeder. Ninety-nine looked it over carefully and told Paul in Cronari that he understood. The simulators were designed to grade a student’s progress. When a student hit a level ten, they were considered competent to fly a speeder. Since a Speeder is a solo cockpit, there was never an instructor involved in the initial flying experience; the simulator was determined to be realistic enough to prove if someone could fly or not. The first day in the simulator 99 spent three hours, while Paul took a short flight in an R4. When he returned, a very hesitant 99 climbed out of the simulator with a slight resistance. Paul downloaded his flight data from the flight diagnostics and control computer to see how he had done. He was shocked that by his third flight he was on Level 5 and had several consistent Level 7 flights and actually had one Level 8. When Paul bragged on his progress, 99 literally glowed with pride. Paul swore he would never judge someone by their looks alone again. This little guy was smart and coordinated.

  As they left, Paul told him, “This deserves a celebration. I’ll fix dinner and maybe I’ll see if Lucy can pull up a movie from Netflix. Paul grilled two petite filet mignons covered with asparagus and Hollandaise sauce, with a twice baked potato, sweet tea and pecan pie for desert. They then settled into his couch with buttered microwave popcorn and Diet Coke. Lucy had managed to fulfill Paul’s movie request. Ninety-nine watched his first ever movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. His favorite character was of course Rocket Raccoon. Ninety-nine got excited when he would shoot a gun or bazooka at the bad guys. He would hide his face and peek through his fingers when the bad guys showed up. After watching it three times in a row, Paul called it a night and helped 99 move into one of the nicer rooms upstairs that had its own large video monitor. He then asked Lucy to see if she could find The Last Star Fighter and the Star Wars Series. Since Paul was a Star Wars junkie, he even recommended showing them in the order of: 4-5-1-2-3-6-7. Before he finished, he added, “Throw in The Princess Bride for later. Paul headed for his room for his news and security briefing before bed. He smiled, wondering how many movies 99 would end up watching.

  He got his answer at breakfast as 99 was doing a perfect impersonation of “Darth Vader’s” heavy breathing and “Chewbacca,” with the aaarrrh sound he was always making. Paul had nev
er been entertained with a floor show at breakfast, but this morning 99 was definitely putting on a show. He decided to change his routine a little and let 99 get some of the fantasy out of his system. After breakfast they went to the Jxansa Gha workout room and fought with the droids for a while. Ninety-nine with a sword in his hand was a sight to see. He was actually improving dramatically. He was developing some skill to go along with his lightning reflexes. Paul couldn’t help but laugh to himself as he saw images of “Yoda” while watching 99 fight the droids. It took most of the morning to convince 99 that everything he had been watching was made up, fantasy, Earth Sci-Fi; only for entertainment. It was a harder concept to grasp when he lived in a world of space ships, laser blasters, plasma guns and alien life-forms. Just when Paul had him convinced that it was fake, a sudden impulse came upon him to freak-out his little buddy completely. He reached to his belt and removed the 16 inch long wand hanging at his side. He activated the light sabre and immediately cut all four blades held by his fighting droid in half. He cut it off, hung it back on his utility belt and walked away, saying in Cronari, “Let’s go see if you can improve your score on the simulator.” Ninety-nine replied, “aaarrrh,” and followed behind a hysterically laughing Paul.