Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  King Darsai smiled and told Hunter, informing him, “My sister told me you are more than you appear to be. In fact she told my Queen and me that you act like a man who knows how to rule. You are a Prince?” Hunter answered, “Crown Prince Hunter Hall, 1st in line for the throne of Verron, my home. But let there be no doubt, I am here to serve you and your people, just as I do at home.” He replied with a bow of his head. Then continued, “Now what shall we do with your uncle? You will never have complete control of your Kingdom with him undermining everything you do and you cannot have one set of rules for your followers and another for your family. He must pay for his treachery, and it must be you who implements the punishment.” The King nodded his understanding and replied, “It’s 4 to 5 days overland, we can get there sooner by river; maybe two days. We’ll leave tomorrow” They returned to the Castle and the questioning stares of the people who lived there. None knew yet of the impending war, only that the King had suddenly started hanging people. He knew that by morning the soldiers would spread the truth of what was happening to everyone inside the castle.

  That night they had Filet of Centipede, broiled in butter and some local herbs and spices. Hunter had to admit it was pretty good. The royal family declared it the best meal they had eaten in their life and asked if Vlad was Prince Hunter’s cook. Hunter quickly informed them, “General Vladimir is the most experienced commanding general I know and he is looking for ways for you to defeat a much stronger enemy. He has also been my mentor in military matters.” Those at the table began to address Vlad as General and Hunter as Prince. After dinner Princess Tiffanis escorted Hunter to a small garden and wasted no time asking, “Are you betrothed Prince Hunter? My brother has been looking for a suitable husband for me and I would prefer to choose my own.” Hunter blushed and wasn’t certain how to respond, but told her, “Like you, my family would like to choose my future wife, but where I come from everyone is free to choose who they will spend their life with. I have been much too busy helping my Grandfather at establishing our kingdom to even think about a future marriage. I have no doubt that once this conflict with Niccaros is behind us, a beautiful woman like you will find a suitable husband.” She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, saying, “Spoken like a true Prince and diplomat. I don’t believe I have ever been rejected so nicely.” She grabbed his arm and had him escort her back inside. Vlad met him in his rooms with a smile on his face. Hunter grinned and told him, “She is beautiful, but I don’t need the distraction right now.” Vlad nodded his agreement and proceeded to use a diagram he had made of the castle and surrounding area to show what he would do if faced with being forced to hold a position when attacked by a superior enemy. It was something he had done in both Vietnam and Afghanistan. When he finished he jokingly commented, “Now all we need are a few dozen 12.7mm heavy machine guns and 30mm auto cannons; piece of cake.”

  Hunter decided to once again leave Vlad behind, but not at the castle. He made a gateway back to the ship and had Vlad spend the next few days doing recon on the area surrounding the castle and the progress of the enemy ships. As soon as Vlad was aboard he launched a dozen drones and began studying holographic images of the surrounding area. He also used his time to get security updates from Lucy, looking for anything that might give him an idea on what to do next.

  The ship awaiting them on the castle boat dock was a flat bottomed river vessel with just enough room for the crew, 10 men and 10 beasts of burden. The small size of the Kings entourage would attract very little attention as he came to visit his Uncle. His army approaching on horseback would have definitely been a sure sign of trouble. The rivers swift current took them through rolling hills and mountain passes, while small villages along the banks waved to their passing King. They took no time to camp on the shores a night. The river-men were experienced travelling the wide river in the dark, so the Kings men slept wherever they could find a place and woke the next morning at the mouth of the river. Over three miles wide and extending inland for a good forty miles, they were now dependent on the winds and sails to get them to Darlendr, the city named after the man who would like to be king. There was a royal party of the Prince’s guard and other dignitaries on the docks to greet them. The King and Hunter, accompanied by only four of the King’s guard, proceeded to the palace of Prince Darlendr while the rest unloaded the Zylner, the name for the horse-like creatures, and prepared supplies for the return trip back across 200 miles of rolling hills and wooded forests. As Hunter and King Darsai walked down the crowded streets toward the palace, the citizens of Darlendr were quick to get out of the way of the intimidating Dark Knight.

  Upon reaching the gate to the palace compound, they were greeted warmly by the Prince’s palace guard and escorted directly to his study. Prince Darlendr was probably no more than ten years older than the King; a big man, with a full beard, dark hair and broad shoulders. He was an impressive person and stood a head taller than King Darsai and half a head taller than Hunter. Hunter stood obediently by the door as the King shook hands and gave a brief hug to his Uncle. The Prince asked, “What brings you here nephew? It has been too long since your last visit.” Darsai quickly told his uncle, “There was an attempt on my life and we have uncovered a plot to overthrow my kingdom. I wanted to make sure my closest friends knew what was going on, because your life may be in danger as well.” The large Prince suddenly looked relieved, believing he had not been discovered and this fool of a nephew was now confiding in the very man who had tried to kill him. He smiled a reassuring smile at his nephew and with a comforting tone told the King, “I can’t believe anyone would attempt to kill you nephew. And it was thoughtful for you to be concerned about my safety, but I assure you I am in no danger from those who attempted to take your life.”

  King Darsai would make a great poker player. He looked at his uncle with a perfectly straight face and replied, “Oh, you don’t understand. I know you are in no danger from those who tried to kill me. They are already dead. But, Uncle you are in danger from me.” The King quickly drew his foot long dagger and drove it through his uncle’s heart. The shocked look on his uncle’s face faded quickly as he fell backwards, banging his desk as he crashed to the floor. The Prince’s guards quickly drew their swords; the six of them were dead in moments as Hunter beheaded three of the six and almost chopped the other three in half. The office was a bloody mess. The King indicated for Hunter to remove the head of his traitorous uncle. He then carried it out of the palace to the streets beyond and in a loud voice declared before the shocked people. This is what happens to those who betray the King. Before I leave Darlendr there will be more. Anyone who tries to stop me will join my uncle.

  Eight more co-conspirators hung from the gate of the city before the King left the next morning. One of them was his Uncles wife. He left his new Captain of the guard in charge of the city until he decided if his cousins could be trusted to take over their inheritance. They both stood quietly as the head of their father and the lifeless body of their mother swung from the city gates. The loyalty tattoos were present on those that were hung. The cousins had no such markings. It is the only thing that kept them alive. The Prince’s body guards, who tried to stop the King, were instantly slain by the Dark Knight. Twenty-two men, killed at the hands of this terrifying man in dark-gray armor. The king left with an oath of loyalty being given by his cousins, the remaining army and administrators. They were checked for the Nicci tattoos before taking the oath. The city was quiet as the King and his Dark Knight road out of the gates headed for home. The kingdom was free of the traitors, now would come the battle for their lives.

  Chapter 26

  To explore Mars has been the dream of men who looked to the heavens for centuries. It has been photographed and analyzed by passing satellites and observatories by almost every Nation on Earth. There have been Mars landers sent by both Russia and the United States, but actually having a team of scientists walk-on and explore the planet has for years been nothing but wishful thinking. A joint ventur
e of American, French, Russian and Japanese space programs was soon going to change history. In a few hours a newly built Shuttle-type craft, designed and built by both French Centre National d`etudes Spatiales and NASA, would be launched from Cape Kennedy for a manned trip to Mars. The original shuttles were designed to be reusable low-Earth orbiters, never designed to be Spaceships that could cover the 140,000,000 miles to Mars. But the French and U.S. team completely redesigned the old shuttle and made a ship bigger, faster and with a heavier payload that actually weighed the same as the old orbiter, at 203,000 pounds. At 250 feet, it was 27 feet longer than a C-5A Galaxy and had double the payload at a bit less than 100,000 pounds. The two huge boosters that would propel the ship and crew into space were about 50 feet taller and had increased thrust; 25% higher than the old model used on the last Shuttle flight. Shortly after the shuttle Mars was in orbit, the Russians would launch two spacecraft; one would carry the Mars lander, that would have added to much weight to the shuttle for lift-off and the other would have two Russian made Photon Boosters capable of lifting 20 tons into space.

  Once in orbit, the Mars lander would be transferred to the cargo bay of the spaceship and the two Photon boosters would be attached to the ship for propelling it at over 200,000 mph toward Mars. The mission had been planned for years, now, in only 10 more minutes, Navy Captain Samantha Sullivan would make history in numerous ways; Captain of the first flight to Mars, First African-American Woman to command a NASA mission and First grandmother in space. Her youngest daughter gave birth to a beautiful 9 pound baby boy the day before the launch. At forty-six years of age, she was not quite ready for retirement, but having a daughter and grandchild at home was definitely going to bring on some changes. Her husband, Deputy Director of the CIA George Washington Sullivan, had his left leg amputated the week before, due to his constant battle with diabetes. The Navy and NASA shrinks spent many hours making certain her mental health was stable after what she had going on in her life. She came through with flying colors.

  The crew she commanded consisted, so far, of herself, one Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, flight engineer, two French, and two Japanese. At their rendezvous in space they would add two Russians for a total crew of eight headed for Mars. With the improved speed of the spaceship, it would still take almost a month to make their orbital position around Mars. The Mars Lander would be deployed with one crew member from each country, due to politics, explore the planet for 24 hours and return to the ship after leaving probes and transmitters in strategic locations. It would take a bit longer for the return flight since they would no longer have the benefit of the Photon boosters, but should make it back in just over two month. A long duration flight, but not even close to making any record books.

  The rendezvous with the Russians went without a hitch. It took just under the planned 12 hours to load the lander and attach the Photon Boosters. The computers calculated the proper trajectory and firing sequence and they were soon on their way to make history. There were plenty of experiments conducted in the research facility designed by the Japanese and preparations to be made for the up-coming landing. The crew managed to stay busy non-stop while they headed for their destination. As they got closer, Captain Sullivan looked at the approaching planet every chance she got. She couldn’t believe a girl from a poor family in South Florida was going to pilot a spaceship around Mars. She wished she could be one of those who actually stepped foot on the planet, but someone had to pilot the ship and the responsibility was hers. She smiled when she fondly remembered her daddy carrying her from Fort Lauderdale to Cocoa Beach and waking her from a deep sleep in the back seat just before the first Space shuttle in history took off. Who would have thought that trip would have had such an impact on a child. She wished her father were still alive to see her today, but she knew her mother, daughter and husband would not leave the television for days.

  They were on their second day of orbiting Mars and were in the position designated for launching the Mars Lander and Mars rover. The old model shuttle would have never held both of these crafts, but the cargo bay on this ship was as big as the largest airplanes on Earth. In fact, they could not do the usual 747 piggy-back ride since this ship was almost as big as a 747. She was still amazed at the brilliant minds that put this thing in space. The Russian piloting the Lander and the landing computers controlling the Rover worked flawlessly, while the world watched them live on TV. Now it was her turn to sit and wait and watch, like the rest of the world. Twenty-four hours and then she would be a very busy woman making certain everything was in position for retrieving the Lander and crew. The Rover would stay behind, probing the surface of Mars powered by a combination of nuclear and solar power.

  The distance between Mars and Jupiter is 324,012,346 miles; distance may vary depending on the orbital position of either planet. Filling that vast area is the Asteroid Belt. Unlike your typical science fiction depiction of the belt, it is not so close together that a ship has trouble negotiating the hazards of the billions of asteroids. The truth is that most asteroids are 600,000 miles apart. Millions of them are one kilometer, or .62 miles in size, ranging upwards to over 100 miles wide. Four are so large they are almost considered planets; Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea. Even with the great distance between them, these carbonaceous asteroids do collide with a frequency of once every 10 million years and with even less frequency these collisions will create meteorites. Some of them have actually reached the Earth’s surface, but most burn-up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere or spin away harmlessly through space. One of those once in 10 million years occurrences of colliding asteroids took place a little over a month before the Mars orbiter was circling the planet waiting to retrieve its passengers.

  It wasn’t much of anything to see. In fact it probably wasn’t even noticed by the many observatories on Earth, since when the impact occurred there were only a few small fragments ranging in size from 3 feet in diameter to 6 feet, about the size of a small office desk at most, but these fragments were now hurling across space at a speed in excess of 140,000 miles per hour. Now the mathematical probabilities of a 6 foot meteorite travelling through space at 140,000 mph for over a month entering the same orbital path of a spaceship orbiting Mars is higher than the probability of winning the Powerball Lottery, to a power of 10. There is simply no way it could happen; except for today. Too small to see on Earth’s telescopes or sense on the ships radar, the refrigerator sized rock was headed for a collision path with the spaceship piloted by Captain Samantha Sullivan. She was about to add another item to her list of things never done before.

  They never saw it coming, but they certainly felt it hit. The crew aboard was extremely fortunate that they did not take a direct hit, only a glancing blow to the rear thrusters. The impact severed the thrusters and a small portion of the cargo bay from the ship, disintegrating them on impact. If it had hit the front of the ship the entire crew would have been killed instantly. The force of the blow sent the ship spinning helplessly off its Mars orbit and out into space, on a trajectory and speed that would put them on Alfa Centauri in a few thousand years. Captain Sullivan began emergency procedures, shutting down everything behind the environmental chamber in which the crew lived and worked. The asteroid had knocked out electrical and hydraulic functions. There was no longer any means of propulsion. The crew looked helplessly toward Mars as they continued to spin farther and farther away from it, all of them knowing that there was no rescue ship that could reach them and realizing that in less than 8 hours the four men on Mars’ surface would run out of oxygen. The ship had enough oxygen to last for many more days, but that only meant that they would put off the inevitable. A tear began to form in her eyes as Samantha Sullivan realized she would never get to see her new grandchild, her daughter or her husband of 25 years again, she was going to die while spinning out of control through the Milky Way Galaxy.

  Paul was sitting in his office with General Zarman discussing the situation on Darsai. They had been on the com-link with Vlad
who said Hunter was off visiting the King’s uncle. Lucy had fed the observation photos taken on Darsai to General Z and Paul for their evaluation. Both agreed that Vlad had properly assessed the situation, but were still wondering exactly what they were going to do about it. Vlad reassured them that he would have it figured out by the time Hunter returned from his trip. While they were discussing Hunter’s situation, Renee, Hunter’s mother, stepped into the room in a panic. Paul felt for sure that something was wrong with Amber or her mother Leona, Paul’s ex-wife, but was surprised when she frantically explained, “I was just talking to Mom about some of your investments and she was so distracted we couldn’t talk. You’ve got to have Lucy pull up the Earth news, the spaceship that was orbiting Mars was struck by a meteorite and now thousands of miles from Mars heading out into no-mans-land. Every one of those astronauts is going to die if you don’t help.”

  Paul always admired Renee’s ability to manipulate him. He thought she should have been Jewish, she did guilt so well. He told Lucy to monitor the NASA secure channels to get a non-news version of what was going on, while at the same time watching the news coverage from CNN. As he watched, he knew he had to do something and do it fast. Eight people would soon be dead and no one on Earth could do anything about it, but he could. Renee was actually in tears. Paul had never known anyone with such compassion for people, he assured her that he would handle it and asked, “You want to come?” She didn’t know what to say. She had been in space many times, but never on a mission that could be dangerous. She grinned and asked, “Can I bring Marie, she still hasn’t been any farther than Beriya” He laughed saying, “Meet me downstairs in 15 minutes, I still need to contact any of the Guard who are on planet.”