Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  Four months after the Nigerian rescue the network news and government security agencies were still buzzing with wild speculations, actual satellite coverage and eyewitness reports. The young girls and boys who were left in the Embassy compound consistently described big metal monsters with glowing swords that chopped the heads off of everyone that got in their way, the boys who had seen some television, said that the monsters had guns on their shoulders like Predator and were made of metal that nothing could destroy. The monsters were the heroes of Nigeria and becoming legends among the tribes where the young boys were returned home. Most of the girls had no living family after Boko Haram destroyed their town. An anonymous donor funded a girl’s home for those who had no family and they were being cared for and educated by NATO volunteers and Catholic Health Services. The CIA, NSA and Naval Intelligence were constantly reviewing satellite and drone images taken during the incident. It was impressive and terrifying at the same time to see hundreds of men firing automatic weapons and throwing grenades at two men in body armor and it having no effect at all, while at the same time seeing shoulder mounted laser Gatling guns mowing down row after row of terrorists, but when the two metal monsters tossed the plasma grenades and disappeared, the explosion was so powerful it knocked out the drone overhead and temporarily blinded the satellites.

  The best pictures of what happened during and immediately after the explosion were taken from a U-2 flying at 60,000 feet. When the film was slowed and the incredible devastation viewed in slow motion, it was an unbelievable sight, as they watched buildings, trees, equipment and people literally disintegrate. The Seal team never saw Paul kill the sentries, only the headless bodies in the hall. CIA Director Brannon and his security team did a better job of describing the men in body armor and were debriefed repetitively about the men in armor being able to immobilize the security with a wave of his hand. Abubakar literally would not shut-up, revealing more details about his organization and its activities than the CIA had imagined. Arrests would soon be made of Boko Haram converts in the United States preparing for terrorist activities on U.S. soil.

  When Chief Petty Officer Tom McKinney suddenly arrived at his base of operations in Coronado, California in the best physical condition he had ever been in, and showing no indications of having been wounded, there were suddenly Naval Intelligence, CIA, NSA and FBI agents swarming the San Diego based operation of the Seals. Poor McKinney was even given Psychological evaluations and lie detector tests while he was being debriefed over and over. The truth finally came out in a top secret classified report. Most who read it questioned the sanity of the Chief Petty Officer; which is probably why he was not given a hard time about ending his enlistment and taking his retirement package. McKinney reported being taken to a planet 30,000 light years from Earth and his leg being regenerated in a special medical facility, that the two men in the body armor had actually been the King and Prince of Verron, and their commanding General was a retired Marine. When McKinney described the multicolored aliens, 9 foot giants, 7 foot stick men and a man-made moon the size of Mars, the credibility of the report was very much in question and immediately filed away to be seen by no one else.

  Of course word of Verron and his recruiting activities were all over two continents and they knew that this man was doing some pretty strange things, but the very idea of an alien society in another galaxy jumping back and forth between Earth and Verron was so impossible to believe that reports were classified immediately and filed away in vaults. The President was briefed on the final report and told by his National Security Advisor that he should not accept everything in it as fact, since almost everyone who reported were suffering from PTSD in some form. With the exposure the Verron name was getting, the FBI increased their efforts to track down the reports of missing people, often entire families. Friends and neighbors would tell the investigating agents that their individual or family was moved to Verron, but no trace of activity was found beyond that, they simply disappeared. Several agents even applied for jobs through employment agencies being used to target specific job skills still needed on Verron. Several were turned away because of their race, but one made it as far as the transportation center in Capital City. He was immediately returned to Earth after being given the customary low dose of Kahlan. His report stated that he was escorted through a predetermined gateway into a large immigration processing center where the employees spoke so many languages to arriving people he couldn’t verify just what language was spoken there, but a lot of it sounded like Russian. He was given the same injection given to the other new arrivals and when asked, spilled his guts about exactly who he was and why he was there. A very kind lady approached him and asked, “Since you are leaving here immediately, where would you like to go?” When he replied, “Washington D.C., he was immediately escorted through a doorway and exited in the middle of the Smithsonian, directly under the Spirit of St. Louis. When he mentioned in his debriefing that the majority of the people around him were speaking Russian, it was noted by his interrogator that Verron was probably in Russia and that the citizens of the United States were for some reason going there to live.

  Chapter 23

  It had been four years since Paul Verron began populating Verron by bringing his mother and family to live there. As he sat in a briefing by his executive staff he was pleased to hear the reports of the progress that had been made in such a short time. He would have preferred to have a larger population, but recruiting the way he was at this time it was a much slower process. He hoped one day in the near future to change his approach. His five year plan was to completely reveal himself to Earth and hopefully establish trade and additional recruiting at that time. For now he was content with the 2.5 million humans he now had living on Verron. If it weren’t for the droids, androids and cyborgs from Beriya-Haven, the picture wouldn’t have been so bright, but the amount of labor available by using this technology was tremendous. Humans and machines were working side-by-side in almost every industry, as were humans and other life-forms. Of the 2.5 million humans 30% were from the United States, 50% were from Russia or other European countries, 15% were from Beriya-Haven and to Paul’s surprise, the remaining 5% were from Xhondar I. He felt certain that as word spread on that planet, there would soon be others, he had done no active recruiting in the Xhondar System. With 40 billion people on that one planet, he doubted any would be missed. The thing that surprised him most was that the entire 5% were ex-military friends of Dalhia who wanted to fly again and missed being soldiers. There were now an additional 200,000 non-humans living on Verron. The majority being from Tecalna and Klelta, but there were quite a few Chikondi and androids roaming around as well. Verron was now exporting agricultural products such as beef, pork, chicken, seafood and of course wheat, as well as the majority of the fresh fruits and vegetables sold on Xhondar, in addition they now exported oil, weapons, satellites, spaceships, cotton, manufactured clothing, farm equipment, steel, power supply reactors, water filtration systems, quarried rock, water, personal transport craft and ocean going vessels; all of it increasing by leaps and bounds.

  The economies of Tecalna, Klelta and Beriya-Haven were transforming into free-market societies and the standard of living had improved drastically. The transportation center gateways were now functioning. From Capital City, you could go to any city on Verron, including the ski resorts area, and to any of four other planets; Xhondar I, Klelta, Tecalna and Beriya-Haven. Tourism was flourishing in both directions and business and trade between the Nations was developing at a promising rate.

  The Dragon Guard had become fine-tuned weapons and still remained really great kids. Hunter was now 22 years-old, Amber 19, Katelyn 18, Chase and Daniel 16, Tala and Cali 14, Prince Hon IV 16 and a full 8 feet 6 inches tall, Camil was 15 and officially a Verron and no one was quite certain about Camil’s age, but they guessed 17. At times Paul felt like Marcus was running an adoption agency. He and his wife Danyel just loved kids and wanted them all to have a family. Most of the time if
you needed to find the members of the Guard, they were hanging out at the two houses on the lake, Michael’s and Marcus’. Pavel “99” Verron was always where they were. He never had a childhood, and even though he was considerably older, he was still like one of the kids. They were now old enough that they were often training with the Pilots and Marines in the Verron military, they considered jungle training, mountain training, weapons training, hand-to-hand and jumping out of hover transports fun. General Zarman had the beginnings of a military academy in place and the Guard was often used as his test subjects on new learning programs. Vladimir’s ex-Spetsnaz intelligence officers often trained with them in weapons and hand-to-hand techniques and found that they had become the pupils in many areas. Paul had given the Dragon Guard military ranks to better deal with their constantly being in military aircraft and installations. He made it clear that they are under the authority of General Zarman, Colonel Hall and Colonel Zhdanov, but reported directly to him. Their rank would always be two grades above an officer of equal rank; for example 1st Lieutenant Tala Verron would carry the equivalent rank of Major when dealing with someone who was of equal rank in the Verron military. It rarely caused problems, since they were seldom in positions of command, and those that knew of their capabilities took no issue with it.

  Major Hunter was assigned to Vladimir’s unit and was spending more and more time in Russia and other parts of Europe helping recruit and transport people back to Verron. He was recognized as a native in most European countries. Major Amber Hall was the right hand of Dalhia and was doing an excellent job commanding and training the Verron Air Force. Everyone knew she was destined to take Dalhia’s place one day in the future, even though she was young, no one who flew with her ever questioned her knowledge and ability to lead. Captain Chase Verron and Captain Daniel Verron were hands down the most knowledgeable weapons systems experts anyone had ever known. With the ex-Air Force, Navy, Marines and even numerous Russian Mig pilots, none was as knowledgeable as these two. They were constantly at the Spaceship factory or the Marine base installing and testing new prototype weapon designs and going on maneuvers with Marines to test updated weapons and equipment in various environments. Captain Katelyn Verron and 1st Lieutenant Tala Verron were without a doubt the best test pilots and fighter-pilot trainers on Verron. The experienced pilots from Earth resented them and loved them like daughters at the same time. They got first dibs on all the new stuff coming out of the plant and were constantly out flying and outshooting those they trained. But most importantly, everyone else was improving in their attempts to outperform these youngsters, especially Tala; some were getting close to staying with her when she led them in pursuit training.

  1st Lieutenant Cali Verron was doing a tremendous job training the over 5000 Tecalna military on Verron. More than 1000 were pilots. The people trained on Verron were rotated out after completion to assume command of units on Tecalna. 1st Lieutenant Hon IV was the most feared man on the planet Verron or Klelta. When you take a 500 pound, 8 foot 6 inch-tall man and then give him The Power to go with it and training in every weapon or martial art form, he is not someone you would want to tangle with. A few tried. Most he laughed off; a few pushed it too far and ended up in the hospital. The rotation of Klelta trained soldiers sent back to Klelta had turned them into an army to take seriously. With a Klelta military of 30,000 heavily armed giants and 20 Destroyer sized fighters, they were now capable of their own defense. Major Pavel “99” Verron lead a Fighter Squadron. He was the only one in the Squadron that could hang with Tala through the Needle or the Mt. Alene tunnel. The little alien was one of the most popular men on the air base and looked up to with respect by even the most experienced pilots. 1st Lieutenant Camil Verron was Vladimir’s bright and shining star. She was leading and helping Vladimir train 15 other Shapeshifters she had personally recruited from Beriya-Haven, with the blessing of the Chikondi, who were glad to be rid of them. Vladimir had them training in almost every country on Earth, on Tecalna and Xhondar; they just could not do Klelta, because they were about 3 feet to short. They learned languages quickly and could look like any nationality they were exposed to. Vlad had great plans for this bunch. They were also great entertainment when they gathered with the Dragon Guard. Ninety-nine had introduced them to his Sci-Fi collection. It was not unusual to see a couple of Mystiques, or Wolverines walking around Verron; John Travolta and Taylor Swift were also popular figures.

  Hon IV and Cali had become really close friends. They were scheduled in the near future to go on an expedition much like Chase and Daniel had done when they went to Beriya, but this month they were doing a joint Klelta-Tecalna training exercise. Cali had taken 3,000 of her commandos, now respectfully referred to by the Verron Marines as Catmandoes, to Klelta to practice skills together with the Klelta army. The Klelta needed to learn how to interact with those smaller than them and the Catmandoes were becoming just a bit too independent to work well with others. They both needed the discipline. None of the Catmandoes had ever seen a cat from Earth. Paul was often amused by the similarities; the grace, the poise and balance coupled with great athletic ability, but also the independence, stubbornness, arrogance that went with the confidence. Prince Hon was putting his team of paratroopers through their drill for his Father’s review; full body-armored Klelta jumping out of transports as they flew by 100 feet above the ground. With no parachute, they could fire their weapons and hit their targets as they leaped from the moving craft. The Catmandoes were doing the same, but landing in the tops of trees or tops of buildings to assume better control of the battlefield as snipers or riflemen in the high position. When the invasion alarm began to sound over the noise of the mock battlefield; King Hon III looked at his son and assumed it was part of the drill. The look on his son’s face confirmed it was not. The command went out for the Klelta to man their battle stations. Cali gathered her Catmandoes to await orders from Prince Hon about where he would like them to post.

  Armada High Commander Slinsk was proud of his fleet of over 500 of Qualoc’s finest ships. After it had been reported that the Emperor-god’s brother had been killed and his kingdom overthrown, Emperor Lykios immediately ordered his War Lord to assemble an Armada and either retake or destroy the planet Klelta. The reports of a god more powerful than Ares who totally destroyed the god king and his entire army, setting the Klelta free to murder the citizens of Qualoc, had infuriated Emperor Lykios. He had planned to use these ships to conquer other worlds, and was even angrier that he was forced to deploy them to a world that he had lost. He was not a man who took defeat well. Armada High Commander Slinsk was ordered by the god King to leave no one alive on Klelta. The Emperor would then resettle it with his own people. It had been a long trip, across two galaxies, and his men were anxious to vindicate their lost friends who had been murdered by the rebels on Klelta. He had no doubt as he neared his destination that even if these giants had formed a sizable army, there was no way they could stand against the more advanced technology and the firepower of his Armada.

  He looked out over the fleet in front of him, 100 of the Emperor’s Newest Battleships, at over two miles long and with six feet of body armor these were the most indestructible ships in the Emperor’s fleet. They each carried a crew of 5500 men and women, were armed with over 10,000 missiles, gigantic 150mm Plasma Cannons, 50mm Laser Anti-Missile Machine Guns, capable of firing 6000rpm and shredding even the strongest of armor. The 200 Destroyers were almost 5000 feet long and carried a crew of 2000. Each carried the same weapons array, just less of it, and supported the 200 Fighters from their hanger bays. He also had 150,000 of the Emperors best soldiers, with 200 armed troop transports, prepared to land on Klelta and avenge the Emperors brother. He was entering the Klelta star system and would soon be close enough to launch his attack. He gave his second in command the order to pass along to the other ships to prepare for battle. He would not fail; he could not fail. Returning home to Qualoc in defeat was not an option. He and his commanders would surely face a
death penalty for treason if they returned in defeat. Emperor Lykios did not like to lose.

  Two of the Klelta invisible Stealth Fighters picked-up the Reactor discharge imprint from the Armada that was headed their way. With a total of 20 Klelta ships at his command and an additional 10 Tecalna ships, with a mix of Fighters and Light Destroyers, King Hon was not too thrilled with the odds. He intended to fly out and meet them as far from Klelta as possible before the bigger ships could effectively use their weapons against the stationary targets on the planet surface. He knew that if he were doing the attacking he would destroy the cities and every steel mill on the planet. King Hon wasn’t about to let the enemy get close enough to do that. He had his 20 Giant Sized Fighters engage their cloaking device and move at the best possible speed to halt the progress of the enemy ships. The 10 Tecalna ships were commanded by Cali to position themselves in the outer reaches of the Klelta atmosphere and stop anything that got through the Klelta as they engaged the enemy fleet. The Catmandoes and Klelta paratroopers readied their weapons and transport jump ships to engage anyone who made it to the ground. Cali placed a distress call to Verron, requesting General Zarman send as many ships as possible to assist in the defense of Klelta. She gave him the coordinates and headings of the approaching fleet and prepared herself for the fight. She wanted to join the fight in the air, but knew she needed to remain with the ground troops to command alongside Prince Hon and the 30,000 Klelta. Thirty-three thousand highly trained soldiers were about to be put to the test. Some of the men thought this was still part of the drill and war games they were on Klelta to participate in. Cali and Hon quickly dispelled that rumor as they put on their body armor and strapped on their weapons to prepare to engage an enemy they knew nothing about.