King Hon invited Paul’s entourage to come to the palace. The crowd parted as they moved away from the ship. The Klelta were trying to feel at ease with the heavily armed humans present, but the tension was still there. Justice picked up on that fact and asked, “King Hon, are any of these men going to be in your army?” He looked around and indicated his son Hon IV, the man who had lost his arm, now with a new one, and four more. Then said; “There will be others, but I plan to make these men my leaders.” Justice turned to Captain Stevens and ordered, “Captain, you and your men secure the ship and I want you to show these men your weapons and how they work. Also explain the body armor to them. If they can fit inside, let them look at the Destroyer. These men are going to one day be your allies. I believe you’ll be glad to have them on your side.” The six Klelta eagerly hurried to the Marines. These Marines were not small men, yet looked like children beside the Klelta. As one of the soldiers held out his weapon for Hon IV to examine, it became obvious that these men would be carrying some big guns. Even the shoulder mounted 50mm Plasma Cannon looked small in the Klelta hands. Captain Stevens looked at one of his sergeants and commented, “I believe there will be a new definition for light infantry and heavy infantry. These guys can carry as much firepower as an artillery unit.” Only Captain Steven’s had learned the Xhondarian language and was surprised when Hon IV began to ask questions about the equipment in a dialect that he could understand. Hon would then translate to the others. Hon IV asked the Captain, “Can I be a Marine?”
As Paul, Justice and Hunter entered the city, the atmosphere was much different than his last visit. The carnage from the overthrow of Ares was gone. There were still a few closed up shops, but everything appeared to be operating normally. There were however, no humans to be seen, but Paul and his group saw nothing but smiling and approving faces as they were escorted by their King. Once they were inside the palace, Hon informed Paul, “I’m afraid I have some bad news. Here at the palace we were able to get the citizens under control before the humans were killed. At our other cities there were more of them who managed to escape in their ships, and there were less of them than here. However, we found no survivors anywhere but here, and that is because I moved those that remained inside the palace grounds and posted guards around them. Their hate, for most, is focused on the humans who enslaved us, not the ones who set us free.” Paul remembered the refugee camp that he had flown over, and realized that although it covered the entire grounds, there were not that many people. Paul almost hated to ask, “How many survived?” Hon stopped walking and truly looked ashamed to answer, “Sixty-two thousand are all that still remain.” We didn’t manage to count the bodies from each town, but I estimate three times that number were killed, the rest must have escaped in those transport ships. We fired up several of the furnaces in the steel mills and burned the bodies.” Paul looked at Justice and Hunter; they could tell he was trying not to lose control of his composure. They had brought ships with enough capacity to take back a couple hundred thousand. Now, considering few had any property to take with them, he could most likely get them all in one of the larger ships. He was about to tell Colonel Hall or Hunter to have the others return to Verron, when King Hon said, “I am deeply ashamed of what my people did. Many of them lost loved ones to the cruelty of Ares and his followers, but we should have never become like them. When I explained to my people who their liberator was and what you needed, either out of guilt or out of curiosity, I had 10,000 men and women volunteer to assist you on Verron.” Paul was dumbfounded. He had never expected more than a handful. He looked questioningly at Hon and saw a look of satisfaction on his face, he continued, “Of course, a Klelta has a very big appetite. Can you afford to feed that many?” Paul thought a minute and answered, “I’ll find a way to feed them; I’m just wondering how I can afford to pay them.”
King Hon shook his head and smiled at Paul again, obviously enjoying himself now. He shocked Paul even more by saying, “You have already paid for them by setting them free. They each volunteered to do this for one year. If you need them longer, then you can talk to them about pay. Make sure they are well fed and well treated and they will do a good job for you. We also plan to bring our own tools. No one works in stone and steel like us and we have not had a chance to do it freely for centuries. It will be good for my people to once again use their skills and see beautiful things built with their hands. That is their payment.” Paul thought of the size of these men and women and of their tools and realized that he may need all four ships after all. He looked at Hon and said, “My friend, you and I are going to get along well. I just left a place so buried in bureaucracy that no one could make a decision without it being second guested. You have made my job much easier. Now let’s talk about how I plan to deliver oil to your planet, train your army and buy your steel.” Hon slapped Paul on the back, almost knocking him down, looked at Hunter and asked, “Is he teaching you how to rule when he is gone? That is what I want my son to learn. Watch this man and you will someday know how to deal with kings.”
Before dinner, Hunter was introduced to Prince Hon IV. After spending his entire life in slavery working in the quarries alongside his father and mother, he was not your typical spoiled prince. In fact, like Hunter, he was still adjusting to the idea of actually being in his unique position. Although he had always known that he had the heredity of a prince, living as a slave made it difficult to actually imagine being one. Hunter asked the prince if he would like to go for a ride in the Destroyer before dinner. His grin was almost as ugly as 99s, but he doubted anyone would dare tell him. The Marines stayed below with an increasingly curious and growing group of Klelta wanting to see their weapons and watch them shoot things in the quarry for target practice. A Light Destroyer looked like a Fighter with this big teenager in it. He managed to squeeze into one of the pilot seats. Hunter realized that if he had been grown, there would be no way to accommodate his size. He knew as soon as he took off that this kid was automatically hooked. They flew at about 10,000 feet above the surrounding area and then climbed to 30,000 feet and flew out across a low mountain range that ran along their ocean. Hunter identified a few more towns and plenty of curious observers. He made it a short flight, promising Hon IV that he could be the first to try out the new simulator on Verron when it was finished. His next question was made in politeness, when he said, “When do you think you will be able to get away for a visit to Verron?” Hon IV smiled and answered, “I have been fighting with my father about going with the workers who plan to go back with you. I have now decided that I will return with you regardless if I have his permission or not.” He thought a moment and added, “Father keeps talking about how a prince should learn to lead and make decisions. Well, someone needs to lead our people on Verron, it might as well be me, and I’ve made that decision on my own.”
When they returned to the palace Hon IV was prepared for a fight with his father and mother about his decision to go to Verron. He entered the dining room with Hunter by his side determined to convince his father he was old enough to make decisions on his own. Instead his mother came over and gave him a motherly hug and told him, “After dinner, go pack your things. King Verron has convinced us that you could learn more on Verron than if you stayed here. Don’t argue; your father knows what’s best for you and for Klelta.” They took his silence as disagreement and his father said, “Don’t argue with your mother; just do as you’re told.” Hon now tried to contain his grin and mumbled a deep, “Yes, sir.” He and Hunter left to go to his room before he started laughing so loud his parents would fuss at him for that. As they headed down the hall he was literally jumping up and down and walking sideways trying to hurry and still talk to Hunter at the same time. Finally Hunter asked, “Hon, how old are you?” Based on the way Hon acted, he was not surprised, but looking at his size he was amazed, when he answered, “I’m almost 13. Or at least I’ll be 13 my next birthday.” Hunter looked at this 7 foot tall goliath of a 12 year-old and thought of Chase a
nd Daniel, who were actually older than him. He suddenly understood his preteen rebellious streak; he thought the same way when he was almost 13 years-old.
After a supper, that was only marginally better than the last time Paul ate here, he asked to be taken out to the human refugee camp. He felt that it would be best if only the three humans went out to address them. King Hon did not disagree. As Paul, Hunter and Justice exited the palace and entered the camp, it reminded Justice of many of the camps he had been around in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. These people had not been here long, but it was already beginning to smell like unwashed flesh and untreated latrines. Many of the people displayed one kind of injury or another, but none looked serious. These people did not look all that pleased to see them. Suddenly someone shouted, “Are you the one that caused this? This is your fault. What are going to do about it? We’ve lost everything.” Some of the others began to get vocal and move as a group toward the man who had destroyed their lives. Paul was not about to allow Hunter or Justice to be hurt by an angry mob or by flying debris. He held out his hand and the front 30 to 40 people froze stiff. When those behind them realized what had happened, their previously loud conversations became whisper quiet. Paul then spoke, “Let me make myself perfectly clear. I came to your planet in peace looking to hire Klelta craftsmen. Your king and your army attacked me. If they had not done so, I would not have been involved in your politics in any way. You have suffered the consequences, some of you unfairly, of the cruelty shown the Klelta. I have no doubt that if you had been the slaves and able to overthrow your masters, you would have done the same.” Someone in the back yelled, “We have no way home, what are we supposed to do.” Paul informed the crowd, “Tell me where you’re from, and I will gladly take you back there.” There was a hush and finally someone behind the frozen declared, “We were all born on Klelta, none but the soldiers and the king knew where we were from. Now they’ve abandoned us to die here.” Paul knew nothing he offered these people would make them happy, so he turned to leave, saying, “Since you obviously don’t want my help, I’ll just leave you here.”
He unfroze the leaders and was headed for the door when they began to cry and beg, “Don’t leave us; they’ll kill us if we stay here.” Paul turned back around and once again spoke, “I came here with enough ships to carry every one of you back to Verron, my home planet. I am King Verron, and I’ll put a roof over your head, make certain you have plenty to eat, give you free medical care, free education for your children and everyone will be considered equal. I can use almost any skill. If you don’t have a skill, we will teach you one. We have laws you must obey, one being that everyone works. We have no unemployment and we have no one riding around on a hover sled dressed in his night gown pretending to be a god.” Some of the people actually smiled. “We are a new Nation, and people are free from tyranny and oppression. There is no slavery and everyone has an opportunity to be the best they can be. We serve the one true God, the creator of the Universe and I am not him. Our military is there to defend my people, not to control them or intimidate them. I’m sorry that the life you have here has been destroyed. I’m here to give you a chance to rebuild your lives in a place where you will want to be, not a place where you are forced to be. So, now’s your chance; I’m here to be your liberator, not your conqueror. Now do I leave with empty ships, or full ones? Once again, if any of you has a place you would rather go, I will take you there.” Paul again turned to leave. As he walked away, Hunter looked at the rag-tag future citizens of Verron and said, “We’ll begin boarding at first light, be ready if you want to go.” Paul hoped that these 62,000 people would not become a problem, but he would not leave them behind.
Since he and his ships planned to leave first thing in the morning, Paul decided to briefly go over his plans for helping Klelta with King Hon. While sitting in an office he had not seen on his last trip, he explained how he could pump oil directly to Klelta by using a gateway. He informed the King that he would insist on having a Marine security detail to protect this technological secret, and he would be certain to send enough Marines to begin training the King’s new army. He also promised to provide two Cloaked Light Destroyers to patrol his outer atmosphere should any of his former oppressors return. After seeing how human weapons looked like toys in his people’s hands, he decided to work with him to create some entirely new weapons that would suit their tremendous size and strength. King Hon was excited about the prospect of having oil for the foundries and for something besides the heavy transport trucks in the quarries. He escorted Paul to the back side of the palace and showed him a garage holding ten bright and shiny Klelta versions of an automobile. They all looked like an older and larger Chevrolet Carry-All Truck, which later was known as a Suburban. They seated at least six of the huge Klelta. Paul sat down in one and was reminded of a child in need of a booster seat, as his legs barely dangled over the edge of the seat. There was no point in even trying to look under the hood; he wasn’t tall enough see in anyway without a step ladder. He found that these were oil burning vehicles. He decided that he would work with King Hon to build his own refineries or sell him refined products from Verron. He briefly explained the benefits of gasoline fired internal combustion engines and how with Klelta’s ability with steel, they could build these engines themselves.
While he was in his meeting with King Hon and Hunter was getting to know Hon IV better, Justice was sent to notify the awaiting transports when and where they should land, and to contact Verron so they would have medical, housing, human resource management and everyone else involved on situating the new arrivals standing by to receive 62,000 humans and 10,000 Klelta. He had Justice also contact Michael and Renee and have them return to Verron to deal with the problems of integrating 72,000 people into Verron at once. He asked Yadvega and Gail to go to Tecalna to handle whatever Michael and Renee had started doing there. He felt bad sending his ex-wife to Tecalna, but he also knew that this would not be the first time she would be called into action as Michael’s assistant. He also knew that Yadvega was an experienced diplomat and a master of the Tecalna dialect. He realized he probably should have sent them to begin with. Justice moved the Light Destroyer to one side to make room for the two transports he would use to board the refugees. He informed them they could go ahead and land and get prepared for the humans anxiously awaiting a way off the planet.
The next morning as a bright orange sun rose in the west, the streets were all but empty with the exception of a long line of people moving through the abandoned streets towards the Transports. There was no one there to harass or taunt the fleeing humans. Paul was glad to see that they were being allowed to leave in peace. There were a few pushing or pulling carts of some kind holding all their possessions, but most carried everything they owned on their backs. Some carried nothing at all. The children were hungry and scared, the adults were tired and angry at having to give up the only lifestyle they had ever know and anxious about the thought of starting life over again in a strange place. When Hunter stepped in to help an old man and women too feeble to carry their heavy load, the others looked on in surprise. They were even more shocked when he asked, “How would you two like to be 40 again? We have technology on my planet that can give you a whole new life.” Pointing to King Verron, he said, “King Verron is probably 10 years older than you.” Everyone looked in amazement at a man who looked 30 years old. The old woman began to cry and thank him. What happened next really shocked the humans. Following Prince Hunter’s example, Prince Hon IV stepped into the crowd and relieved a man with a bad leg of his heavy burden and even offered him support to walk. Paul and Justice and some of the Marines began to pitch in to assist those struggling with their loads. Soon some of the Klelta awaiting their transports to land walked in among the humans to assist any who needed help.
By the time the two ships were loaded and ready to depart, some of the humans and Klelta knew that though they had their differences, they were not each other’s enemy. Justice had the two load
ed ships hold in Klelta orbit while the other two were loaded with the 10,000 Klelta and tons of tools used for masonry and steel construction. They even had those huge cutting tools they had been using in the quarries. These men and women looked like they were ready to work. Every single Klelta who boarded had a bed roll on their back. When Hunter asked about it, he learned that they had been sleeping in bed rolls for centuries. None were allowed to have beds or a home to put a bed in. They had been sleeping in open dorms, barns or improvised shelters, usually without heat and often with little food to eat. None had been cared for medically, if they did get sick, they were simply allowed to die. Fortunately the Klelta are an incredibly resilient race and rarely got sick and the frequent cuts and wounds from beatings healed quickly through their self-regeneration ability. Not having enough food made the process much slower, and some would become infected before a wound would close on its own.
When everything and everyone was loaded, and the King and Queen mother had said their goodbyes, Paul invited young Prince Hon IV to ride with them in the Destroyer. He vacated his seat next to Hunter and allowed Prince Hon to once again squeeze into the seat. They lifted off from the quarry after the two huge Transports and began their journey to Verron. After they rendezvoused with the other two ships Paul had them line-up one behind the other at small intervals. With this many people crammed into the ships, there was no way he was going to subject them to a long grueling space flight. He had them accelerate to only Mach 20 then asked Hunter to slow his ship so the other four could pass while he made a gateway into the Verron system. He had never held one open long enough for five ships to pass through, nor had he made one big enough for the monstrous transports, Paul breathed a sigh of relief when Hunter steered the Destroyer through the gateway and it closed. Young Hon had already been looking at the world around him in wonder, but when they came through a gateway and were looking at Verron and her two moons from 500,000 miles away, he almost stopped breathing. Hunter looked at his new friend next to him and said, “Believe it not, you do eventually get used to this. I haven’t yet, but some of the Xhondarians who have been traveling like this for millennia don’t even seem to notice.
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