Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  After dropping off 10 bags of dead snakes at the Verron Pharmaceutical Company, they met back at the Mountain City hanger to be greeted by a smiling Vladimir Zhdanov. Although he was usually a fairly happy fellow, the big smile was not his norm. Before anyone could ask what was up, he gleefully told them, “I am getting married! Jesserrica will soon be Mrs. Zhdanov.” Embracing Hunter, he said, “You will be my best man. King Paul will give the bride away; who better to give away a queen than a king. Father John will perform ceremony. Princess Renee will be maid-of-honor. You will all be groomsmen and bridesmaids. Little Linsarius will bear ring. It is not safe to go upstairs. The women are plotting the wedding.” The girls immediately headed upstairs to help plot. The guys went down to the underground gun range to practice with some new weapon designs. Paul was hiding out in his office with Bhlani in an attempt to avoid the gathering in the kitchen. He even had the drones bring him a Toasted Rueben on Rye, kettle cooked potato chips and a deli pickle. While he ate, he and Bhlani laid out plans for the motorcycle business they had been procrastinating on getting started. They had Donald and Leona on a conference call to work out some details of what they wanted to do. Leona jokingly asked, “Paul, why is it you could never make this kind of money when you were married to me?” He knew that she and Donald were very wealthy thanks to him, and replied, “I’m sorry; I can try my best to make less.” Donald jumped in laughing, “Well, I for one want to see just how much you can make. What kind of scheme are you up to now?”

  Paul then laid out his plan, saying, “I know you’ll think I’m even crazier than you already do, but this scheme may not make all that much money, but it’s a labor of love. If we make money fine, but if we lose money, I’ll live with it. I want you to find two multiline motorcycle shops, both in completely geometrically opposed areas, say East Coast and West Coast and stay away from the Japanese brands and Harley because they want to control too much of the dealers business. Triumph, Ducati and BMW or Aprillia, KTM, and EBR; any combination of these will do, but Triumph, and Ducati are first choice, any of the others will do for a third. It would be best if both locations handled the same three brands. What we plan to do is open a motorcycle dealership on Xhondar I. It will be supplied with motorcycles and parts inventory from the two dealers on Earth. By splitting them from one coast to another and with a variety of brands, it won’t be so obvious when their sales numbers spike upwards. We have no idea how many motorcycles we’ll sell on a planet that has a total of one at present, my old Bonneville, but with a market of 40,000,000,000 people, we may have to start manufacturing them there in the future. Don’t buy anything too large or too small. We don’t want to set off to many alarms when the volumes begin to increase. As usual, I want it done yesterday; Bhlani is a very impatient man.”

  Leona immediately replied, “Yeah, right. Remember that poster the girls got you for your office wall. It was a perfect illustration of your true personality.” Donald ended the call with, “We’ll get on it right away, Boss.” As soon as they broke the connection, Bhlani had to ask, “What poster?” Paul couldn’t help but grin at how his three girls had captured his true personality. Then he replied, “When the girls were in their early teens they bought me a poster and hung it on my office wall while I was gone; for my birthday. It had two large vultures sitting on a dead tree limb looking around, as if they were talking to each other. The caption underneath the picture read, ‘Patience my ass; I’m gonna kill something.’” Bhlani thought a moment and asked, “Where can I get one of these posters? I think maybe we should use it for our National flag instead of the dragon. It definitely fit’s the leader.” Paul knew he should have never told him. No doubt, the poster or a re-creation would soon appear; God only knows where.

  Chapter 24

  The wedding was a major event. Vlad and Jesserrica were extremely popular and well known on Verron. Jesserrica had no living family other than her two children, so the traditional ‘family of the groom’ or ‘family of the bride’ seating arrangements were done away with; both were equally loved and the entire sanctuary of the newly built Saint Paul Orthodox Church was filled to capacity. Paul didn’t say much about the name of the church, after all there was indeed a St. Paul, but he knew that Father John named it that for two reasons; one of them being that the original St. Paul had planted churches in foreign lands to spread the word of God. Since this church was completely paid for by King Paul Verron, there was double meaning to the chosen name. Vladimir looked like an advertisement from men’s formal wear in his custom tailored black tuxedo. His blond hair was perfectly groomed and standing beside him was a young man almost as tall and sporting his foot long blond ponytail. They could have actually passed for father and son or brothers with their blond hair, chiseled facial features and piercing blue eyes. No one had ever seen the Dragon Guard so dressed up. No one could imagine how much material was used to make a tux large enough to fit 9 foot-tall 500 pound Hon IV or how little it took to make one for 99. There were some beautiful women across from them dressed in maroon full length silk dresses strapped over one shoulder. These girls were more accustomed to their commando uniforms or flight jumpsuits. Dressed up for them was putting on a dress for Church every Sabbath Day. They had spent hours getting their hair fixed, nails done and being fitted for their dresses. The most interesting of the bridesmaids was a very attractive Jennifer Aniston, Camil had chosen for the occasion. The other girls were envious, all they could do was change cloths and hair styles, Camil could be anyone she chose to be that day.

  When the wedding march began all eyes turned to see the bride being escorted by King Verron. She was radiant and could have been a model for Bride Magazine. The lace and pearls of her dress were hand sown by a Russian seamstress from Moscow who had opened a custom dress shop in Market Place. She was indeed one of the most beautiful women on Verron, with her waist length dark brown hair, slightly olive complexion and eyes that were almost gold in color. The crowd was just as amazed at the man escorting her down the aisle. King Verron actually had on a tie and a custom tailored tuxedo that would make any king or president the envy of those who saw him. He actually looked very kingly. He had even tried to convince himself that he could do this without a tie, but the Queen Mother used her motherly powers to change his mind. When Paul saw Father John at the front of the sanctuary he almost laughed at the thought of what he now had to pay for his priestly attire. Since the fashion trend had taken over on Beriya-Haven, robes had become a supply and demand item and the market for them was hot. Paul couldn’t help but be pleased at the sight of Father John’s new wife wearing a maternity dress and sitting on the second row. He had been in love with her when he was shipped off to Afghanistan and wounded. He had such a lousy attitude after losing his leg, he broke their engagement. Neither had ever married. Now they were happily married and expecting their first child, both were 76 years-old and looked 35.

  When the wedding was over and Paul had enjoyed all of the wedding reception he could endure, he excused himself and headed back to the Mansion. The festivities at the Klelta Palace went on for hours after he left. Shortly after getting into his Levis and T-Shirt, there was a knock at the door. He was impressed, no one ever knocked. He opened the door to Hunter, still in his tux, but tieless, and his jacket slung over one shoulder. “May I come in; we need to talk.” He immediately blurted out. As soon as they were seated on the sofa, Hunter began, “I’ve been thinking and praying a lot about the implant. I know you were thinking about 24 being the perfect age, but I’m a pretty mature 22 and I am committed to having the surgery done. I haven’t discussed this with anyone else. It’s my decision and my decision only.” Paul thought a moment and asked, “When would you like to have it done?” Hunter didn’t hesitate with his answer, he evidently had already worked out his plans; he answered, “Vladimir and Jesserrica leave tomorrow for their honeymoon, somewhere in the South Pacific. Now would be a good time, since we won’t be making any European trips or training for a couple of weeks.” Paul no
dded his approval and responded, “OK, I’ll set everything up with Tlase. She is the only one I would trust to do it. The surgery itself doesn’t take that long, but it will take some practice to get used to it. Have you made your excuses for not being around for those who will ask?” Hunter grinned and answered, “You’re my excuse. You are so determined to recruit more farmers that you’re making me go alone to Russia to recruit. So if I disappear for a week, no one will wonder where I am.” Paul smiled and confirmed, “Good! As soon as the surgery is completed, you can go to Russia to practice using it. I wouldn’t want either of us to lie to your mother. Maybe you can go visit your Grandmother and Donald while you’re on Earth. They don’t get many visitors at their place in Manhattan.”

  Two days later Tlase and the surgical drones installed an implant identical to Paul’s and two perfectly matched blue eyes. No one would know but Paul, Hunter and Tlase. The next morning Hunter was off to Nizhnevartovsk with a baseball sized satellite drone in his overnight bag. Practice needed to include connecting with the drone and Lucy, as well as controlling the numerous functions now available to him. When Hunter first stepped out onto the streets of Nizhnevartovsk he looked down the road to read a street sign on a corner to get a bearing on his current position, suddenly he realized that the street sign he was reading, as if it were a few feet away, was in fact over a mile away. Then it dawned on him, “It’s ten o’clock at night and I’m seeing everything as if it were high noon. This is really going to take some getting used to. I can’t wait to use the X-Ray vision.”

  Tala and Chase were bored to death. Hunter was back in Russia, Cali was on Tecalna, Hon was on Klelta, Camil was out training her Shapeshifter crew, Katelyn was babysitting Linsarius and little Paulet, Ninety-nine was training some new pilot candidates from Xhondar, Amber was in meetings with General Zarman and Dalhia working on the plans to expand the Air Force and it’s capabilities, and Daniel was busy with the researchers at the spaceship factory to adapt invisibility for the bigger ships, and increase the firepower of the missiles used. They had just returned from a dirt-bike ride through the low hills surrounding their home and heading for the kitchen when Danyel informed them that Uncle Paul had something he wanted them to do. They were showered, fed and dressed, standing in Paul’s office in less than 45 minutes ready for whatever he had in mind. He noticed the wet hair on both and told them, saying, “You didn’t need to be in that big a rush, but I appreciate your enthusiasm. I figured you two had nothing else to do so I have a Long Distance Light Destroyer and the Marine squad standing by waiting for you two to go check out this star system.” He waved his hand over the holograph control and a small cluster of planets appeared. He continued, “It’s a small star system about 45,000 light years from Klelta. You can actually see it from there using their observatory. The Xhondarian report claims there is life on the planet, but gives no detail about who or what or how many. There is no indication of how advanced they are, simply that the planet they call Molnar has some form of life. You are to check it out and do whatever needs to be done to see if they can be part of what we’re trying to do. They may be no more than bugs or snakes, but we need to know.” Tala smiled and asked, “Sir, if it’s snakes and bugs can we use it for target practice?” Paul smiled and replied, “They may be very intelligent bugs. Check everything out before you start blowing things up. Now get out of here. They are waiting in the hanger downstairs. Grab what you need and get going.” They both saluted him and took off running to get their gear.

  When they got to the awaiting Destroyer they were greeted by 24 Marines that gave new meaning to the term “people of color.” Half of the 24 Marines were Beriya-Haven androids in a wide variety of colors, four different shades of blue, three shades of green, one mid-night black with orange hair, one pail orange with black hair, one red with white hair, one gold with bronze hair and one pink and burgundy striped; hair and all. The other twelve consisted of six Tecalna and six Xhondarian. The Captain was an American from Monroe, Louisiana. The smile on his face was infectious as he greeted the little red headed Dragon Guard and her blond headed brother. The first words out of Captain Dumas’ mouth were, “I wondered who’d get picked for this mission. I guess you two got the short straw.” Chase looked over the colorful crew and asked, “What mission? No one told me about a mission.” The Captain quickly responded, “Oh, no, we’re not supposed to invade Japan or anything like that, we’re just supposed to do some drills and landings and get used to working together. This is the first joint national squad. I got to pick them and train them myself. But we needed some off planet time and ship time. Not a one has been on a ship before.” Tala handed her bag to the Captain and told him, “Get them onboard, we take off in five. I promise, by the time we get back, they will have had a chance to practice anything you desire them to practice. Except fly the ship. By the way, can you fly a ship?” He confirmed with a strong, “Yes Princess Tala.” She replied, “Good, ‘cause someone needs to keep an eye on him if I step away from the pilot’s seat.” The two Captains looked at each other and smiled, knowing that Tala had no intentions of allowing either of them to fly her ship while she was on board.

  Tala took off in precisely five minutes and wasted no time getting clear of Verron. They made a jump to a small lifeless star system about 10,000 light years from Klelta and lying between Klelta and Molnar. Orbiting a small gas ball of a planet, the Klelta had discovered an abandoned spaceship. Zimuel, Yadvega and Dalhia took a look at it and did not recognize anything that could identify who built it or where it came from. Based on the ancient nuclear fusion reactors, they estimated it to be between 10 to 20 thousand years old. Whoever built it were large creatures. The Klelta had been using it for practicing ship boarding exercises and could stand erect in every room on board the ship. The builders also had three fingers on each hand and apparently had more than two arms. The pilot chairs, what remained of them, were big enough for a Klelta but appeared to have a slot in the seatback for a tail to protrude. Based on the number of controls in front of the seat, the operator would need more than two arms to use them. While the squad of Marines went through the ship practicing search and destroy techniques in zero gravity, Tala and Chase searched every nook and cranny of the 2 mile long ship for anything that might be learned about the deceased builders. While carefully inspecting one of the eight reactor rooms, long free of any radioactive contamination, Chase discovered a small cable exiting the reactor and leading towards a central operating console. He traced the bright copper colored wire to where it disappeared into a large console. Using his Laser Dagger he carefully removed the top layer of metal covering. What he saw pleased and shocked him at the same time. Underneath, evidently sealed away for thousands of years, was a metal box about the size of a suitcase with dozens of wires leading to it and from it. The indicator lights and readout dials on the top surface looked as clear and bright as the day the ship was made. He had discovered the ships brain, the A.I. that controlled all functions of the ship.

  Chase immediately directed Tala’s attention to the hidden console and she contacted Lucy using the Destroyers onboard AI. After some careful instructions and close-up live videos of the console, Lucy directed Chase on how to connect a computer interface allowing Lucy inside. It was tedious work and Chase was sweating heavily inside his Survival Suit by the time he was finished. They returned to the Destroyer and in about an hour Lucy reported, “The ship belonged to the Jhxunka. They are from a galaxy over a million light years away. The ship is exactly 18,000 years old. It seems they were placed in suspension for the long journey, only to awaken to alarms announcing that six of the eight reactors were leaking excessive amounts of radiation. They began to die quickly and 40,000 survivors escaped in the escape pods that were in these now empty ship bays. Their planet was dying and these people were looking for a new home. Unless they found something nearby while in the escape pods, they may be dead now.” Lucy did a small hologram of what one would look like, saying, “They are an insectoid ra
ce, 8 to 9 feet tall with six multiple jointed limbs. They can walk on all six or walk on two and use four as arms and they are covered with a thick shell like an Earth crustacean. Probably bullet proof and sword proof, but I doubt they can withstand a laser blaster or plasma rifle. They have extremely sensitive hearing and eyesight and appear to have no less than six eyes. They are a hive creature and if they have no queen, then they will have died out years ago. If they transported a queen to form a new colony, then there could be billions of them by now; if they survived. These Jhxunka require very little water, can handle extremes in heat but not cold and will eat anything that’s eatable. Their weapons were crude by our standards, but far more advanced than Earth weapons of today; air rifles, energy weapons and nuclear weapons were part of their arsenal. According to the ships computer, the planet they were on was in the same situation as Beriya. Their star was burning out and the temperature on their planet was continuing to drop. They were looking for a new home when their ship reactors killed almost everyone on board.”