Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  The other four disappeared in single file through the opening Amber referred to as the Needle. She had shaved off enough speed to be moving at Mach 1 when she quickly tilted the Fighter perpendicular to the side walls and shot through. Samantha swore there were less than a couple of inches to spare. It quickly opened into a pass through the mountains about a mile wide. The rest of the pack was entering a narrow exit at the other end. Paul, Tala and 99 were long gone. The pass was every bit as narrow as the caves and river beds, but at least there was light above and it didn’t feel as confining. By the time they finally exited onto a high plain, they could see the other four, way ahead. Amber hit the throttle and blasted up to Mach 7 and quickly closed the gap and passed the slower Speeders, but there was no sign of Paul, Tala and 99. They once again raced through a narrow pass at Mach 3, and the others began to close the gap. Around a sharp bend they shot out into a beautiful valley over 200 miles long and half that in width. After a few minutes Samantha looked out at the horizon covered for miles with every conceivable configuration of spaceship imaginable. She looked around at the Verron Air Force that was operating in the valley surrounding the factory. There had to be close to 1000 Class X Fighters, along with Light Destroyers and Gljarne Class Destroyers flying in and out of the busy Spaceship field. There was no need for a runway, like an Air Force Base on Earth, but it was obvious there was a pattern and precise order for the busy activity. Amber said, “The Marcus Verron Space Center; there’s Grandpa.” Samantha looked over in front of the factory and saw three Speeders parked and waiting for the pursuit group. It was time for a plant tour of the Spaceship factory.

  Amber landed right next to Paul Verron’s borrowed Speeder. Ninety-nine did a quick check of his Fighter and noticed the scratches in the paint on the tips of what Samantha knew now were not wings, but weapon struts. He smiled and asked if she needed him to teach her how to fly the tunnels without hitting the walls. She gave him a dirty look and commented, “You know good and well that we were going through all those caves and passes a lot faster than usual. If your ship is scratched, blame Grandpa for trying to show-off.” Paul looked at Samantha and replied, “Make sure you raise that grandson of yours to show respect. It probably won’t work, but maybe it’ll turn out better than it did with mine.” Amber did a perfect eye-roll. Not what you’d expect from a Colonel in the Verron Air Force but exactly what he’d expect from his favorite granddaughter, well actually, his only granddaughter; that he knew of. Everyone else landed close by and started harassing each other about their flying styles. Tala and 99 were the focus for most of the banter, since they were the only two who had made passes in unbelievably difficult places and had actually hung with Paul when no one else could. Samantha loved the relationship they had with each other and was pleased to see a man in King Verron’s position still able to relax and just be who and what he really was, and doing something it was obvious he loved to do. There wasn’t an ounce of pretentiousness in the bunch. They loved what they did and did it very well. It wasn’t work for any of them; they were preparing to be the most powerful military force in the Universe and having fun while they did it. Samantha realized that none of them actually realized or cared about how exceptional they all were.

  It took a few hours for Paul and Amber to give Samantha the full tour of the factory, the ship yard and the air base. When she toured the Verron Man of War she had no words to say except; “King Verron, you’re scary.” He smiled and replied as he looked at Amber, “Seems I hear that quite often.” They left Hunter and Amber’s Speeders at the plant, Ninety-nine took his Fighter directly to Beriya-Haven to find Uduak, thinking, “A girl-friend.” He had no idea he would have to wait several hours before they were ready for him, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  Paul, Amber and Samantha took the newly completed King Verron Executive Transport back to Mountain City. Marcus had done an excellent job. He had taken it upon himself to do a total customization of a Light Destroyer to serve as King Verron’s personal transport. One of the Spaceship factories new additions had been an engineer from Brabus Private Aviation in Bettrop Germany. He had made an interior that was equal to the lushest Maybach, who he had previously worked for, and taken the weapons storage and Marine transport spaces and filled them with newly designed interior features. It would comfortably seat 24 people in luxurious comfort. The exterior was a brightly polished white with a red dragon, like the Verron flag, painted on both sides. He had also managed to keep two 10mm Laser Gatling Guns and a dozen small FTL missiles very well concealed. It had virtually every technological toy that could be put on a spaceship. Marcus wanted the King to look like a King wherever he went. As they were walking toward the ship Paul had Lucy activate the cloaking device. It immediately disappeared right before their eyes. They continued to approach it slowly and actually touched it before they could tell where it was. The hatch opened and you could then see the plush leather seating and native Verron wood grains inside the ship, but still could not actually see the ship. Amber and Samantha took the controls while Paul relaxed in one of the ergonomically designed passenger seats. Amber sat back and crossed her arms and commented, “Now let’s see if you learned anything.” To her amazement Samantha knew exactly what to do to get the King Verron up and headed in the right direction. It flew like nothing she had ever flown before. The response was instantaneous and there was no limit to its maneuverability. She didn’t think she would ever be satisfied with her F-14 again or her Space shuttle. They landed back at Mountain City and a dozen people gathered around to inspect the new ship. The three of them headed for the kitchen and enjoyed the last of the cobbler and vanilla ice-cream before retiring for the evening. When Amber escorted Samantha to her door she told her, “Get a good night’s sleep, we have an exciting couple of days ahead for you.” As she closed the door behind her, she thought, “I’m not sure I can handle any more excitement than what we did today.” But, she knew in her heart, she couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

  Paul and the rest of the Dragon Guard still on Verron were out for a morning run when Amber and Samantha sat down for breakfast; Kinfu omelets filled with BBQ Pork, mushrooms, green peppers and onions, potato pancakes and a Diet Coke for Amber; Samantha substituted coffee brewed fresh by the Queen Mother. There were only 7 people at breakfast, but Amber assured her that this kitchen stayed busy all day. When Paul and the others got back from their run they would eat everything in the kitchen. They both had a small travel bag to take care of a two or three day trip and headed down to the awaiting Light Destroyer and Marine escort. Amber informed Samantha that since there had been some trouble on several planets that Paul always wanted at least a Marine escort and a well-armed ship to be used for all trips.

  While they were boarding, Daryl, Paul’s cousin who ran the food warehouse in Mountain City, approached with a hover pallet stacked with large bags of rice. He asked, “If you’re going to Klelta, would you mind taking these to Prince Hon. I don’t know what he does with all this rice. He got the same amount a few days ago when he was here. I guess those Klelta eat large amounts of anything they decide they like.” Not thinking any more about it, she had a couple of the Marines load it in the cargo hold and prepare for departure. As Samantha was climbing into the seat next to Amber for more flight instructions from a 19 year-old Colonel, she was approached by the commanding officer of the Marines onboard, Major James Henderson. At first she didn’t recognize him with his youthful appearance. Then she recognized the former retired Navy Seal who had operated off her Aircraft Carrier when she was still a Lieutenant Junior Grade. He had been a real inspiration to watch as he led his Seal Team into hostile territories inside Afghanistan and Iraq. He was one of the few back then who had served with her husband in Vietnam as well. She had no idea how handsome he had been as a younger man. He told her, “All but three deceased members of my old Seal team now serve in the Verron Marines. It’s different having to work with totally incompetent people like my Captain here.” The big man beside hi
m smiled and replied with a heavy Russian accent, “Major needs Spetsnaz to do hard work. Old man like him should be home watching TV or fishing.” Samantha looked at the two obvious friends and asked, “Just how old are you two?” Major Henderson grinned, saying, “I turn 75 today, the Captain here is still a young 73 and turns 74 next week, he just won’t let me forget that I’m the old man of the platoon.” Samantha gave him a quick hug and wished him a happy birthday, while thinking, “Verron has the most experienced soldiers in the world functioning in young healthy bodies, with the most advanced weapons she had ever seen, she couldn’t think of anyone on Earth that could stand against a force like that.

  The first stop was Tecalna. Amber hovered at a nice normal speed out of the hanger and accelerated quickly to an escape velocity of 32,000 miles per hour. Samantha still couldn’t grasp the concept of taking off from a hanger bay and proceeding directly to outer space with such ease. As soon as they exited the Verron airspace Amber formed a gateway directly to Tecalna. Looking at her surroundings and recognizing totally different star formations, Samantha gave her a questioning look and asked, “What did you just do. We’re no longer in the same solar system, are we even in the same galaxy?” Amber smiled and replied, “Our ships can hit some pretty incredible speed, some as fast as 5000 times the speed of light. But even at that speed it can take quite a while to cover 20 to 50,000 light years. We use that speed for closer flights, but for longer flights, we make a gateway, basically folding space and moving from one dimension to another instantaneously. Our ship computers calculate the precise destination coordinates and moves us immediately to our destination. That’s how King Verron got to you and your ship in time to save your life. As far as we know, no one else has this technology; King Verron plans to keep it that way. By the way, we are still in the same galaxy, just in a different star system. This is Tecalna, where Cali is from. They are a bit more advanced technically than Earth in some ways, but lagging behind in others; medical treatments was one of those areas. A few years ago half their population was dead or dying when we provided medical help and saved several billion lives. They are now one of our strongest allies and trading partners. Cali is actually the High Commander of the Tecalna Military and coordinates the training of the pilots and Catmandoes.” Samantha pictured the confident looking young lady she had flown with the day before. She was even younger than Amber and commanding an entire army, unbelievable.

  When they landed at the Spaceport located in the Calanyo Army Airfield, they were greeted by Governor General Yanada. Samantha couldn’t help but smile when a man who looked like a giant cougar seemed uncomfortable with the appearance of a black-woman. She realized that she looked as strange to him as he did to her. His curiosity faded and he quickly expressed his sincerest welcome. Amber and Samantha were escorted to a very plush hovercraft and flown across the base to inspect the workmanship of the first batch of Tecalna made Fighters. Designated as Tecalna Class ‘A’ Fighters, she was impressed by the unique design of the Tecalna vessel. It was sleeker and more graceful looking than the boxier Verron ships. It literally looked like a tiger ready to pounce. The designation on the side said, “Mountain Tigers.” They had named the fighter squadron after Cali’s mascot, Tigger. Each was a side-by-side two man ship, and all weapons were concealed. On signal from the Squadron Commander one of the ships activated the weapons array and it looked like a Swiss Army Knife with so many weapons projecting from if sleek body. They had used reactors and controls designed by Verron but managed to maintain their individuality. Each ship was as black as a panther and proudly displayed a Mountain Tiger on both sides of the fuselage. Since they were speaking Xhondarian to Amber, she would often turn and explain what was being said. Amber was pleased when Yanada told her that they intend to manufacture 1000 ships this year and wanted to send his squadron to Verron to train with the Verron Air Force. Amber assured him that they could go whenever it was convenient for them. She was dying to fly one of the ships, but decided it would just be to satisfy her own curiosity. She could always do it later when they were on Verron.

  They were escorted across the base to where the Catmandoes trained. Samantha had seen Navy Seals and other elite military units train, but had never seen anyone race through an obstacle course like these soldiers could. With the grace of a cat, they ran across long spans of loose ropes between obstacles, leaped to the tops of walls and barricades and never missed the targets that were constantly popping up along the way. When the troop transports approached overhead, Amber pointed up and said, “Watch this.” As the transports flew over a mock city, the Catmandoes began to jump without aide of parachutes or repelling lines onto the buildings and trees and even light poles scattered throughout the town. Firing their weapons at ground targets as they jumped and never losing stride as they moved through the town on the attack. Thanks to Cali, the Tecalna Army and Air Force was 200,000 strong and growing. Cali had promised Paul 10,000 ships in the air in the next five years. Amber felt that they just might do it; she was already half-way there. When they went back to their ship the two met another ship arriving from Verron. Princess Renee, Amber’s mother, was making her rounds to the trading partners to discuss imports and exports and potential industrial development. She invited Samantha to the ranch for dinner when they returned and asked, “So what do you think of my Dad’s kingdom? Counting our allies, we’re 77 billion and growing. While he deals with the military issues, I get to develop trade. I look forward to working more closely with Earth, we have a lot to sell you guys and no doubt there is plenty you have to sell to us. I better run now, nice to meet you.” Turning to Amber, saying, “If you’re heading to Xhondar I, tell Mahala and Dalhia I’m running a bit late and will see them in two days when I finish here." Amber and Samantha said their goodbyes to both Renee and Governor Yanada and departed Tecalna for their next destination.

  They left the Marine escort behind to do some training with the Catmandoes. They had no need for protection on Xhondar I and could pick them up on their way to Klelta. With Samantha at the controls and the computer calculating the gateway positions and ship speed, Amber instructed her in using the computer generated gateway system; she had no intentions of revealing that she could do it without the aid of the computer. They exited their gateway approximately 50,000 miles from Xhondar I. The first words spoken were from Samantha, as they got closer to the Xhondar orbit, asking, “What in the world in that? I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Amber agreed, the Xhondar I forcefield satellite’s and orbiting missile platforms where a technological marvel. Amber’s transponder signal automatically activated the forcefield grid to open a small area large enough for her ship to pass through. That was just the first amazing thing Samantha was about to witness. Once inside the planet’s atmosphere, the gigantic cities filled with buildings over a mile high were immediately visible. Samantha stared in wonder as she asked, “How many people did you say lived on this planet?” Amber quickly responded with, “Forty billion of the finest people you’d ever want to meet. The Counsel of the Elders are our closest friends and as hard as it may be to believe, a few of them were around at the time of Noah and the Ark. People live very long lives on Xhondar I, that’s part of the reason they have such a large population. They also have had no wars in over ten thousand years. Can you imagine what the population of Earth would be if for the past ten thousand years there had been no war, and virtually no sickness, with people living, on the norm, to be more than 5000 years-old?”

  They landed on the 500th floor landing pad of the Elders and were greeted by Mahala and Gehorda, one of the elders now responsible for manufacturing military ships and weapons for the first time in thousands of years. Amber introduced Samantha to the two men and gave them regards from her mother. Mahala took a long hard look at Samantha and told her, “Excuse me for staring at you, but it’s not because I am not familiar with your race. Actually you just remind me of the last person in Africa I worked with to get rid of some of their false god’s. No dou
bt there are no good pictures of anyone from almost 1000 BC, but you could pass for a twin with Makeda – Queen of Sheba. She was a delightful lady, much too generous and one of the greatest leaders of all time. She would be proud to see you leading men and women into outer space. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Samantha stared at the man who looked no older than his early fifties and thought surely he was insane. Amber smiled and asked, “Master Mahala would you please tell Admiral Sullivan just how old you are?” He realized the Admiral was thinking he was off his rocker and gave her a gentle smile, “Well, in Earth years I would be just under 70,000 years old. Right now Yadvega and I are the two oldest living humans that we know of. So I have met many people from Earth’s past, some good and some I had to dispose of as quickly as possible. Makeda was one of the good ones. I believe you are as well.” They said their goodbyes to Mahala, then Gehorda escorted them to an awaiting transport and a trip to the now fully productive Xhondarian spaceship factory, employing over 30,000 people working three shifts per day, they projected manufacturing 2000 fighters per year and 500 Light Destroyers. In addition they had placed orders for 20 Gljarne Class Destroyers and 2 Verron Man of War. Marcus Verron was a busy man and if not for the technology offered by Beriya-Haven and the machines, he would never get close to manufacturing the hundreds of ships that were required.