Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  Tala had done well so far, and the other pilots had been real sweet as she showed them around, but she was not going to allow this angry old man to put her down. She thought a minute and looked around, finally replying to Mr. McCoy, “I will admit that I am young, and that you very well may have more flying hours and combat experience than me. I have only been flying since I was 10 years-old, you, no doubt, must have started flying much younger. I do have my very own Speeder and fly in it almost every day, usually at speeds of Mach 4 or better. I have been in only one battle and was only able to shoot down 16 enemy aircraft. With your age and experience, I’m certain you have far exceeded my number of kills. I will admit that I cannot fly a helicopter and I admire those who do, but I expect to be respected, not as an equal, but as an expert in my own field.”

  The other pilots applauded her little speech and it only inflamed the retired Wing Commander. By this time the rather loud and obnoxious voice of the pilot had drawn a bit of a crowd, one of which was Prince Harry, who was waiting for a tour of the ship. The big man pulled a seven inch F-S Fighting Knife used by British Commandoes ever since WWII. He commented, “Someone like you has no right to be carrying knives like you have if you don’t know how to use them.” Tala smiled and replied, “Please tell me you’re challenging me to a knife fight. I could use the practice. It’s been days since I killed anyone.” Once again the big man only became more inflamed by the smart-mouth girl and the laughter of those around them. There was an empty pallet about fifty feet away that had been emptied of food and leaned against the hanger bay wall. He looked at it and said, “Dead center of the middle slat.” He threw his fighting knife and drove it squarely in the middle of the 2 inch wide center slat. Tala faced away from the target acting as if she had doubts. That was when she saw the soccer ball sitting abandoned on the floor. She walked over and picked it up and came back to where she had been standing. She handed the ball to a nearby Navy pilot who flew on and off the frigate. She thought he was cute and looked a lot younger than the other pilots. She handed him the soccer ball and asked, “Would you toss this high and straight up into the air on my count of three?” He smiled and nodded his head. Tala didn’t bother with one and two. She shouted three and immediately spun and unsheathed her boot daggers in one swift motion and threw them simultaneously; they clanged against the imbedded fighting knife as they penetrated the slat in the same spot as the one thrown by the Wing Commander. Before the two daggers had even hit the slat Tala had already pulled the Spetsnaz Combat Knife and threw it at the soccer ball nearly twenty feet above her head. If the knife had not made a perfect hit, it would have bounced off the ball to the right or left. It instead drove directly through the center of the ball releasing a loud hiss of air. The ball and knife banged to the hanger surface together.

  She turned to Mr. McCoy and told him, “I don’t like to show off, but I dislike even more when people treat me like a child. I am a Princess of Verron, a member of the Dragon Guard, a decorated Fighter Pilot, Flight Trainer and Test Pilot and pretty darn good with a knife. Now, would you like a tour of the King’s private ship or do you just want to stand around and cause trouble?” She turned and began to guide the next group into the Executive Ship. Wing Commander Calvin McCoy walked to the pallet and retrieved all three knives and to the soccer ball for the other and held on to them until it was his turn to look at the ship.

  When she exited to get the next group of people, Prince Harry was standing patiently awaiting his turn, behind him stood McCoy. Tala smiled her brightest smile at the 40 year old Prince. She knew he was too old, but she still thought he was cute. He indicated the man behind him and said, “I believe someone wants to apologize.” McCoy handed Tala her three knives and looking at the Prince said, “I think we should give her a set of the finest knives in England, a pair of F-S Fighting Knives, bet you could get her a pair. I probably should just give her mine, but I’ve had it longer than she is old and I’m a bit attached.” Looking at Tala he asked, “Where did you learn to do that?” She quickly answered, “King Verron taught me. My older brother Chase is a better shot than me, and Uncle Paul can still out throw either of us.” They climbed into the ship and as Tala let the Prince and McCoy take their place in the pilots seats, Prince Harry looked at the old RAF pilot and asked, “Think Parliament would budget a few of these for the RAF?” He shook his head and answered, “Not bloody likely.” Harry turned to Tala and simply commented as he looked around, “I certainly would like to fly one of these.” Tala was all over that bit of a request. She spoke into the com unit, “Lucy where is King Verron?” Almost instantly she answered, “He is finishing his last session of interviews in the conference room.” Tala didn’t want to ask him herself, so she passed the buck to Lucy, saying, “Would please tell him that Prince Harry has requested a ride in the Dragon Wagon and I am prepared to comply with his request if it is alright by him.”

  Harry looked like a child trying to pull one over on his mother as he looked at her and smiled, saying, “That was pretty tricky and very manipulative of you. Good Show!” Lucy came back on the com link and replied, “King Verron says that the President needs to depart here in an hour to return to Washington DC. Make certain your back by then. Tell the Prince that King Paul knows you took advantage of the situation and not to trust you, it was only an excuse for you to fly the new ship.” They were on an open com link and Prince Harry heard every word and asked, “I take it you do this kind of thing often.” Tala smiled with dimples showing and answered, “Every chance I get.”

  Tala allowed Prince Harry to sit in the pilot’s seat beside her, and turned to ask Mr. McCoy, “Feel like going for a ride. I know it’s no helicopter, but it’s all I’ve got?” He beamed with a chance to have a little excitement in his life again. She exited the ship and looked around at the people milling about, then made a quick decision, saying, “I have been given permission to take 24 people for a ride. One is already on board. I’d like to make the first offer to any of the pilots who flew in here in the choppers.” They immediately headed for the Dragon Wagon. She continued, “That leaves room for 15 more.” As much as she would have loved to take the young enlisted men, she knew King Verron would appreciate her using this to enhance his position with those in power. She carefully selected a French news journalist, a Spanish one and some blond lady from FOX. She then boarded the German Transportation minister, the Israeli Defense Minister, French DGSI Director and Commodore Colson. She looked around at the disappointed faces and asked, “How many of you guys were playing when we beat the brakes off you at soccer?” Seven men raised their hands; if there were more they didn’t want to admit it. She smiled and pointed her thumb behind her, saying, “Well what are waiting on?” Cameras were flashing and digital news cameras were rolling as the engines fired up and the ship began to slowly lift off the ground. The other Dragon Guards looked to see a smiling Tala wave bye to them as they continued to escort people around the ship.

  As soon as she hovered out of the door and was over the open sea, she asked, “Let me see the hands of everyone who has been to outer space.” Hers was the only hand raised. “Well hold on, that is about to change.” She activated the G-Seats and Cabin G-Compensation Device and began accelerating as hard as she could without making the passengers pass out. Increasing speed at a constant pace she soon was exceeding Mach 33 and headed for the Earths outer orbits. She looked at Prince Harry and asked, “Ever seen a space station. It’s only 250 miles from Earth so it will be a quick trip.” It wasn’t long before those onboard were looking at the curve of the Earth from a vantage point 200,000 feet above the Earth’s surface. As speed increased they were soon travelling at 37,000 feet per second. Tala had the ship computer switch on the artificial gravity, she didn’t want people getting sick in her uncles new ship, and chart the most direct course to the orbiting space station. Cameras were snapping like crazy as the station came into view. She circled it once and began her return voyage following her path in reverse, something that c
ould not be done by any Earth technology.

  While she was flying, Prince Harry, told her, “I thought at first you were just a spoiled little Princess who the King let dress up like a soldier. I apologize for my foolish first impression.” Tala smiled, saying, “That’s OK, I get that a lot. It makes me mad and I need to stop showing off just to convince people I’m not your typical 15 year-old Princess.” Harry smiled, saying, “I’ve known plenty of 15 year-old girls. And some of them have even been a Duchess or a Princess, but none of them wore knives in their boots and flew spaceship. Only a fool would think of you as a typical girl.” She looked at him and in all sincerity asked, “Don’t the Princes on Earth do this kind of stuff? I mean my cousin Prince Hunter leads the Dragon Guard and helps train us. He goes with Uncle Paul on hostage rescue missions, smuggles Russians to Verron and right now he is leading an army of 5000 against an army of 200,000. I’m sure you do stuff like that to, don’t you?” Harry laughed, and replied, “Unfortunately the Knight in Shining armor is a thing of the past. I enlisted in the service and learned to fly helicopters, but my country doesn’t let us get too much into the thick of battle.” Tala looked at him and said, “Verron is different. King Verron expects his family to set the example for everyone else. He feels like he could never ask anyone to go into a battle against an enemy if he wouldn’t be willing to do it himself. He is teaching the Dragon Guard how to lead soldiers into battle, not just command them from behind the lines. He told us that if other leaders had to fight their own battles, there would be a lot fewer wars. Did you know that his policy on war is that if we go to war our first targets are the leaders of the country and their military commanders? He thinks it’s a much faster way to end a war.” Harry agreed by saying, “If someone had killed Hitler or Stalin or Saddam, it would have definitely saved a lot of lives.”

  Tala was tired of the conversation and looked over to Prince Harry and said, “OK, now you fly.” She began to instruct him in the operations of the ship and directed him on how to reenter Earth’s atmosphere. With the ships computer guiding him through the operation it was hard to mess up. They reentered the atmosphere headed west across the Pacific Ocean. Tala got a grin on her face and asked, “Want to have some fun?” Prince Harry had no idea what she was talking about until she took the controls and dove the ship to 20,000 feet and headed directly across the Asian Continent, blasting across Russia at 24,000 MPH, smiling all the time knowing that every radar system in Russia was going wild. She soon backed off the speed as they approached the Atlantic. Looking at her watch, she realized she had been gone 58 minutes. She looked behind her at a bunch of men having the time of their lives.

  Tala slowly maneuvered the ship back inside the hanger bay and gently touched down. While her passengers were exiting the ship, Prince Harry stated, “I would like very much to visit Verron in the near future. In fact I think I will go discuss the possibility with King Verron now.” Tala didn’t want to seem like she had to defer decisions to her uncle, so she informed him, “No need, just tell me when and I’ll make it happen. Maybe Prince Hunter will be back by then and you can meet him.” Prince Harry shook her hand and said, “I’ll check my schedule when I return to London to find a time. Is there a way for me to get in touch with you?” Tala quickly replied, “Joshua has set up a website and contact information, but we also will have confidential e-mails for the Guard and the Kings Executive Staff. I’ll get it for you.” When they stepped outside the ship they couldn’t help but notice a large crowd watching the activities aboard the French Fishing Trawler. Tala walked over to get a closer look. Four Verron Marines in full body armor were aboard the trawler and tossing large fish over the side into a big apparatus about 20 feet square. When the fish were thrown into the center of the square they immediately flashed into a bright light and disappeared. Although she had never seen one so big, Tala recognized it as an Antimatter Incinerator. Chase was standing close by and she asked, “What’s up?” He turned to see Tala standing beside him with Prince Harry close behind. He answered, “The decontamination units cleared all three ships, but the trawlers catch of fish had radioactive levels too high to be safely eaten. The Marines put on the armor to prevent radiation exposure and are destroying the contaminated fish, there must be 80,000 pounds. They were headed back in after several days of fishing and had a good catch.” All Tala could think of, was how bad it was going to impact the income of the fishermen onboard. The owner of the trawler’s youngest son was out of radiation treatment and Tala approached him, speaking in French, saying, “I know you worked hard to catch all those fish. How much would they bring at market?” Seventeen year-old Jon Claude turned to see a cute short redhead beside him in a gray uniform. He wasn’t sure who she was, but answered, “Perhaps $8,000 euros; more or less.” She quickly told the young man, “I’ll have my Uncle Michael issue $12,000 euros to cover your loss. As soon as you can, get me your bank account information so he can transfer the funds.” The young man took a second look and asked, “Who are you?” She smiled her most provocative smile and told him, “Princess Tala Verron; Queen of Molnar, Niece of King Paul Verron and member of the Dragon Guard.” As they walked away, Prince Harry commented, “You’re full of all kinds of surprises. You’re also a Queen?” Tala smiled with her answer, telling him, “It’s a very small kingdom, probably under a billion people and not a very developed economy. But they’re great people. If you come to Verron maybe I’ll take you for a visit.” Chase heard the conversation and added, “If she does, I hope you like grubs, centipedes and shiny rocks.”

  While Tala was on her short trip to the International Space Station, Paul was organizing a brief meeting and short tour for the highest ranking representatives of each country present aboard the R4. President Hensley of the United States, President Hollanda of France, Prime Minister Camber of Great Britain, U.N. Ambassador Braun from Germany and Israeli Defense Minister Barak were gathered in the conference room, now free of reporters. Paul Verron began the conversation by saying, “Gentlemen, a few weeks ago I had no intentions of interacting with Earth for at least one more year. Obviously, those plans got changed when we did the outer-space rescue. This morning I was in the process of opening negotiations with President Hensley and his staff to determine a level of involvement economically and militarily that would be mutually beneficial to both parties. Now suddenly I am faced with five Nations from Earth who I feel would be very good allies. The only question now remains, just what can we do for each other of mutual benefit? I know that Earth would benefit from our advanced technology. It is my intention to release this technology slowly to avoid a complete meltdown of your economy. Things on Earth will forever change without the benefit of slow transitions. For example, I intend to offer to sell NASA a spaceship that can handle larger payloads and will make a trip to the Moon or Mars as easily as you could fly from New York to Paris. It will advance the space program in leaps and bounds. However, thousands of designers, engineers, manufacturing workers, astronauts, launch control specialist and many more would suddenly become obsolete. I can absorb some of those people in my space program on Verron, but not all of them. It may be wise to put them to use colonizing your surrounding planets for defense purposes. When I supply oil to my allies, it will completely remove your dependence on OPEC or Russian oil. Companies connected to that market, dependent on those two organizations, will suffer as you benefit. I think you get the picture. Even your military contractors will find instant obsolescence for their latest and greatest weapons and planes the minute our technology becomes available. I would like to meet with you and your leaders on Verron next month if possible. I want to include each of you in my plans but I want to do it cautiously, for your benefit as well as my own.”

  P.M. Camber quickly spoke up, “I for one will be glad to rearrange my schedule to come next month, preferably later in the month. I’m anxious to get a look at your home world.” The others soon agreed that the end of the following month would be doable. Paul then rose from his seat and t
old them, “If you gentlemen would follow me, I’d like to show you something.” President Hensley, who had read the debriefing from Samantha Sullivan on the weapons room, asked, “Are we going to the top level?” Paul smiled and replied, “Admiral Sullivan has been talking has she? But, yes, that’s where we’re going.” They made a quick stop by the Medical Center for an update and Dr. Joe Verron informed them that everyone except the blinded, those who are in the middle of re-growing limbs and twelve of the badly exposed Russians, would be released from medical in 7 more hours, the others would be taken back to Verron for a few more days and released from there. Israeli Defense Minister Barak asked, “You mean three of the Russian smugglers will be out of the tanks soon, any idea who they are?” Dr. Verron looked at a clipboard and replied, “One is the Captain of the ship, the other two we’re not sure of.” Paul Verron knew exactly where the man was headed when he told him, “Perhaps you, DDIC Sullivan and DGSI Director Calvair would like to join me for a brief interrogation of the three smugglers. The others will of course have to wait.” Turning to Dr. Verron, he asked, “Should there be any problem using Kahlan when they come out?” Dr. Joe replied, “Just give them a chance to throw-up and then rehydrate themselves and you should be good to go.” Mr. Barak asked, “May I ask, what is Kahlan?” Paul smiled and told him, “It’s the most powerful truth serum I’ve ever seen. One injection and the person injected cannot and will not lie, ever again. They become totally compliant to an interrogator’s will and strive to please them.” President Hensley and P.M. Camber looked at each other and suddenly Camber said, “Bloody hell; so that’s what you gave that bloke you left in the MI-6 office. He’s still talking, can’t get him to shut-up.” Paul smiled and said, “That’s your problem, I was just a delivery man.”