Paul reached into his bag and Cpt. Bentley raised his gun and demanded him to move slowly. Paul removed two thermals and tossed one to Cpt. Bentley. He was a big man, over six feet and built like a linebacker. Paul said, “You look like you have a pretty good arm, when I open the gate you aim for the middle of the convoy headed this way.” The Marine looked at the little ball and walked toward the gate. Paul told him, “Push the little pin on the side and throw like hell.” Captain Jack stepped forward and threw with all he had right for the APC in the middle. The little ball stuck to it on impact instead of bouncing off. Then suddenly there was an almost blinding flash and a wave of heat. Both APCs and two troop trucks were instantly incinerated. All that was left where burned out carcasses of what used to be military vehicles. There was no sign of any men or bodies. Paul began to shout orders, “Quick to the basement. I have a tunnel, let’s go!” The men looked at the Captain as he nodded toward the door of the villa while at the same time calling his one way out; ordering them to leave. The Marines raced toward the basement and were waiting for Paul outside the room where the hostages had been. Paul told Bentley, “The hostages are already gone; the tunnel will lead you to them.” He opened the closet door and the men raced through. At the last second Captain Bentley grabbed Paul and demanded, “You’re coming with me.” To his amazement the little man who looked to be a hundred pounds smaller than him, gripped his arm with so much power it felt like it was being clamped in a vise and literally threw all 260 pounds of him through the door of the closet.
It was an insane day for the very orderly German Federal Police to suddenly have two dozen armed Marines in full battle gear standing around three blood-covered, half-dressed German hostages. Fortunately Captain Bentley had spent two tours in Germany and had a German wife. His German was excellent as he tried to calm everyone in this stand-off between armed German Police and Armed Marines. Paul immediately asked Lucy if the other Marines had made it off the ground and got a response that they are up but not out of range. All he said was “show me” and a visual feed showed him the exact location of the 50 caliber machine guns and SAMS readying to blow the Ospreys out of the air. He took another thermal out of his pocket and with a little help from his telekinetic skills, threw one at the troops to the east of the planes and the other one he already had in his hand at the troops to the west; both were about ½ mile away. In a flash, there were no more troops and the Ospreys were on their way home, no doubt wondering where their Marines were. Paul had Lucy cut in on their secure channel and he informed them, “Contact Frankfurt Airport Security, you’ll find your guys there.”
He had one last thing to do. He moved the headless bodies into the center of the courtyard and just before he stepped through a gateway home he took one more thermal grenade and rotated the two halves 180 degrees. A small pin popped out from the opposite side, the grenade had been reduced to 1/8 of its normal power. He tossed the thermal into the middle of the bodies. While Captain Jack Bentley was being patted down and searched by German Police he was asked, “What is this” by the German Security Commander that was being as politically correct as possible in searching a pissed-off Marine office. He looked at the piece of paper in the Commanders hand and answered, “Let me see that.” He unfolded the paper and his eyes grew wide; it read, “JUSTICE: 26 dead terrorist, no dead Marines, three rescued Germans. The rules have changed. ISIS kidnaps 1 – I kill one of you: ISIS beheads 1 – I behead 24. Try me and see.” Captain Bentley handed the paper back to the German Police officer who read it himself and suggested, “If I were you, I’d put that in an evidence bag and pretend you never saw it.” There was another one just like it in Arabic, stuck in the mouth of one of the severed heads.
When Paul came back through the gateway Mahala was the only one left in the study. He was watching the entire incident again on Lucy’s video feed. Paul said nothing and waited for the short video to finish, anticipating Mahala’s response. When it was over Mahala turned and spoke, saying, “The others became uncomfortable when you started placing heads on top of the wall. Dalhia stayed to the end, but I asked her to leave. None of them had ever seen violence quite so graphic. I, on the other hand, was around when what you did was common practice. I know you did what needed to be done. But don’t expect others to agree with your methods. Paul, you can’t fix a problem this big and that has been going on for thousands of years, by yourself. What you did will not go unnoticed, but it won’t stop a group of fanatics. I leave in the morning and you will begin establishing the community here on Verron. There will be little time for these exploits. Build your army, train them well, then you can make an impact on the problems that exist on Earth and other planets in the Universe.” He turned and silently walked out of the room. Paul for the first time began to shake, thinking about what he had done. He knew in his heart he had done the right thing, but now felt nauseous thinking about it. He headed for the bathroom to change and take a long hot shower. He carefully cleaned his sword and placed it back in its case. Left his bloody clothes on the floor and climbed in the shower. He cried for what he thought he may become and vowed to kill only when it was necessary; unfortunately, he knew he was going to often find it necessary. As he was drying off he was hit by a revelation about what was really motivating him to do what he did. For centuries evil men with power have abused that power to create fear and intimidation, in order to manipulate and control those too weak or unwilling to fight back; bullies taking advantage of the helpless. Paul thought, “I’m not helpless. It’s time the bullies of the world got a dose of their own medicine.”
The next morning everyone acted as if nothing had ever happened. They ate a breakfast of Kinfu egg omelets, hash-brown potatoes, slightly burned toast, made by 99, with butter and strawberry preserves. The conversations where primarily geared toward saying their goodbyes to Mahala and messages to friends back on Xhondar I. Paul made a point of expressing how much he appreciated Mahala allowing his friends to stay and help get Verron organized. As soon as breakfast was over, they headed for the Xhondarian ship and Mahala’s departure. His parting words to Paul were, “Make me proud.” Then he and his pilot slowly hovered out of the hanger and were gone. Everyone looked at Paul as he smiled and said, “I don’t know about you, but I need to go for a good hard run. I’ll see you in a few hours and then we get started populating Verron. He turned and headed for the elevator, but made a jump for the Robert’s Range before he reached it. The others decided a run would be good for them as well and headed for their local running trail. Paul managed to work out a lot of tension and frustration and do a lot of thinking on his freestyle run/climb in the mountains and returned excited, yet very anxious, about his first steps in birthing a nation. He went to his room and spent some time in prayer before he got started. He then gathered Zimuel, Tlase, Bhlani, Dalhia, Gljarne, Xhing Li, Yadvega and 99 together for a short meeting. He wanted to make certain that everyone was prepared for the first wave of people from Earth, after-all, they were his family and he hadn’t seen them in two Earth years. He desperately wanted the beginning to go smoothly, since his Mom would be the first.
Paul looked toward Tlase and asked, “How many rejuvenation chambers do we have ready?” Her answer surprised him, as she answered, “With the new chemistry and modifications to the chambers, I can now do both regen and rejuv simultaneously. Between the research lab and Mountain City’s medical facilities, we have two dozen tanks prepped and ready. I am already beginning the process of modifying the other units on Verron. There are tanks at each of residential areas and every Destroyer, Battle Cruiser, and R4 ship has several units on board. Soon, with additional trained personnel, we will have more than 5000 units operational across Verron, with a capacity for more when we can increase our chemical production.” Paul let her and the others once again know how much he loved them and appreciated what they’ve done and what they are committed to do, and made a gateway back to his former home; Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Chapter 13
P
aul left Mountain City with a smile on his face and a knot in his stomach. His greatest fear was that his elderly family members may have passed away while he was gone. He also knew how most of his family had lived within 50 miles of Chattanooga for their entire lives, with the exception of their military duty, so most of those he would be looking for would be close by. He exited his gateway in a small wooded area just across from his mother’s retirement community. He entered the lobby of Harrison Towers and signed in at the guest registry. The lady in the office did a double-take, thinking she recognized him but went back to her paperwork. He took the elevator to his mother’s floor and paused a moment as he took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He waited a moment and remembered that his Mom was a little hard of hearing, so he knocked again much louder. It was only 7:00 pm, so he wasn’t worried about waking the neighbors. He assumed his Mom had gone somewhere; even at 87 she would still drive herself places, but never liked to be out after dark. This time of year, it was dark before 7:00 pm. He was about to leave when the little lady across the hall peeked out through a security chained door and spoke, “She ain’t home; been havin’ trouble with her heart. Down to Erlanger” then closed the door. Paul’s heart started racing as he almost panicked, “Please God don’t let her die now.” He prayed, and quickly looked around to see if the hall was empty. The heck with signing out, he jumped to Erlanger Hospital’s parking lot and hurried into the lobby. He all but ran to his mother’s room in the cardio intensive care unit. Visiting hours were almost over, but he was allowed into the private room to see her. He teared-up when he saw this frail little woman of 87 hooked up to IV tubes and a heart monitor. She had always been so lively and full of energy. Even as she developed severe arthritis in her old age, she never complained and never gave-up doing everything she could do. He suddenly realized just how much he had missed her.
As he approached the side of the bed her eyes slowly opened and he noticed the heart rhythm on the monitor spike just a bit. Her eyes were soon wide open in disbelief. It took a moment for her to understand just who he was. The last time she had seen him he was a 65 year-old man with his hair thinning on top and a turkey-neck. Now he looked better than he did when he was 30. He reached out to hold her hand and got a weak grasp in return. She smiled and said, “I’m so glad you came to see me. It would have been awful to not see you before I went home to be with Jesus. Now I can die in peace.” Paul wanted to cry, but maintained his stability, he knew how much his mother loved Jesus and how much she had looked forward to the day she could spend eternity with Him in heaven. He concentrated on just what he would say to his dying mother and said, “Mom, do you think God would mind if you stuck around a few more years. I could really use your help.” Before she could reply, he continued, “Mom, if you knew that you could be 100% healthy, healthier than you’ve ever been in your entire life, would you be willing to postpone being with the one you love in order to be with someone that needs you?” She looked at him and hesitantly replied, “You know how much I love my boys and my grandchildren.” Paul stood back a little and said, “Mom, take a close look at me; do I look like a 67 year-old man to you?” She grinned and replied, “You look younger than my grandchildren.” “That’s because I am. Where I came from and where I’m asking you to go, there are ways to rejuvenate worn out bodies and even repair badly damaged ones. You can be 40 again.” Paul realized where he got his sense of humor when she replied, “How about 30. Thirty is better.” He laughed and answered, “I’ll see what we can do. Now, I’m going to disconnect this IV and heart monitor and we’re going to get out of here before the nurses race in here to see what’s going on.” Paul quickly, but gently disconnected everything, picked-up her almost weightless body and stepped through a gateway to Verron.
Tlase was waiting there for him. She wasn’t certain how long he would be, but doubted it would be long. She knew he would be transporting precious cargo. Paul did a quick introduction, and told his Mom, “I’m going to leave you with Tlase. She is the one who handled my transformation and you can trust her completely to do everything that is best for you. You will be in the rejuvenation unit for a few days. While you’re in there I plan to go get Uncle Mike and Uncle Les.” His Mom’s eyes began to tear-up at the thought of her two big-brothers. Paul kissed her gently on the cheek and told Tlase he’d be back soon with his uncles then formed a gateway to Orlando, Florida.
He had been to his uncle’s nursing home only one time before. He was hoping he was still there. It was the same time zone as Chattanooga, so visiting hours were just over. The nursing home wasn’t nearly as strict as the hospital and no one even questioned him when he walked through the entry lobby and headed down the hall like he knew where he was going. His uncle’s name was still on the door. He didn’t hesitate to enter since Paul knew his uncle could not speak to answer his knock or get up to open the door anyway. He wasn’t awfully surprised to see his Aunt Sherri sitting by the bed reading to him. He had never known a more dedicated woman; he had his first stroke, of many, over 30 years ago. This loving wife had stuck by his side through it all. She looked at him in wonder, trying to figure out who would be visiting Les at this time of the evening. She knew Paul when they he lived in Florida over 30 years ago and he had even been in their wedding. She hesitantly spoke his name, even questioning herself as she spoke it. Paul didn’t waste any time, he began to explain why he looked so young and healthy and that he had already taken his mother to receive the same treatment; in fact, how she was starting her rejuvenation even as he spoke. His Aunt Sherri took a loving look at her husband and asked, “Can I go with him?” Paul grinned and answered, “Sweetheart, you’re going to get the same treatment he does. In a few days, you’ll both be healthy forty-year-olds again.”
Paul stepped forward to be closer to his uncle’s bed and looked at Sherri and asked, “Do you trust me?” She hesitantly nodded. “Then let’s get out of here.” He picked-up his uncle and Sherri rose slowly by his side, he opened a gateway and they stepped through together. Tlase was waiting and had Zimuel there to help with his uncle. She wasn’t expecting Sherri just yet, but it didn’t matter, there was plenty of room. Paul did the introductions and promised he would contact his cousins to let them know what was going on and not to worry. His Uncle Les could see his younger sister already asleep in a rejuvenation tank and smiled as Paul told him, “I’m going after J.D. right now.” He kissed Sherri on the cheek and reassured her that Tlase and Zimuel would look after them, and was gone.
Uncle Mike was Paul’s favorite uncle. From as early as he could remember his Uncle Mike had taken him fishing, water skiing and boating all over the reservoirs of the Tennessee River. He was also the one who taught him to love cars. He had spent his entire working career as a mechanic, body shop manager and service manager of several car dealerships. Paul remembered the last time he had seen his Uncle Mike; Super Bowl Sunday 2015. He remembered clearly where the nursing home was that housed his Uncle Mike. He was asleep when Paul entered his cozy little room. It had a single bed, a comfortable recliner and big screen TV. At 90 years-old he was still in pretty fair health except that his Alzheimer’s was progressively getting worse with each year. When Paul gently woke him he was immediately recognized, since his uncle still remembered him as a 30 year-old, not as a 67 year-old man. He explained that he was going to take him to spend some time with his brother and sister and that he was soon going to enjoy good enough health to go fishing again. That got his attention and his easy participation. Paul wrote a short note to his favorite cousin Teresa telling her not to worry and to call his cousin Carol, Uncle Les’ daughter and tell her that their fathers were with him and spending some time with their sister. He knew she would still panic but he planned to make her and her husband John one of his top priorities. They had been really good to him when he was in prison and even more so when he got out. He looked forward to blessing their lives like they had blessed his. Uncle Mike, dressed in his pajamas and bathrobe, followed
Paul out his door and into Mountain City’s medical unit. Once again the smiling faces of Tlase and Zimuel greeted them. He introduced his uncle and took a look at his old Timex – Iron Man on his right arm. He had strapped it on to keep track of Earth time. It was after 10:00 pm, in fact pushing 11:00. He knew his younger brother and his wife were the most likely candidates to be awake at this late hour.
He wasn’t disappointed. When he exited the gateway next to his brother’s rental home he couldn’t help but observe that there were way too many cars in his driveway. He recognized one SUV as his nephew Marcus’ Tahoe. After looking at the tag on the Toyota he saw that it was a Nashville tag and had to be his other nephew Michael. He could hear talking, music and laughter of adults and children from inside. He stood there a moment just listening to the sweet sounds of guitar, mandolin, banjo and fiddle, all blended with perfect harmony. He knew then he was homesick. Since he used to live in this very mobile home with his brother and sister-in-law, he just about walked on in. Instead he gave the front door a good solid knock and was greeted by the barking of Bella, their black lab. When the door opened he almost didn’t comprehend just how much his nieces and nephews had grown. The youngest, 9 year-old, Tala, short for Tala-Catori, Cherokee for ‘Wolf Spirit,’ had to beat her older brother and sister and her cousin to the door. When she yanked the door open, with her mandolin still in her hand, she had no clue who this man was standing in front of her. But from across the room he saw his brother Kary look on the wall at a photograph of Paul when he was 30 and himself when he was 21 leaning against the side of his old Jeep. He looked back in total shock and whispered, “Paul”.
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