Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  That night Hunter prayed for forgiveness for what he had done, but knew in his heart it was the right thing to do, he just hated the fact that it fell on him to do it. He was relieved to know that only 300 of his men had died; most of those from the exploding gate and surrounding tower collapse. The men with the crossbows had been darn good shots, killing men on the walls and along the ridge. If they had ever been given a chance to establish consistent fire, the deaths for Darsai would have been much worse. He realized as he fell asleep, he was actually homesick and couldn’t wait to get back to Verron.

  The following morning he had breakfast in his room with Vlad, who informed him, “Of the 12 smugglers who were on the ship, half have decided to stay here and help build up the King’s army and settle-down. The Captain decided since his ship is here, he would stay also. Pyotr has made it his personal science project and has been offered the position of The Royal Engineer. Two want to get married and the other just likes being a hero and one of the good guys for a change. The rest want to come to Verron and join your Marines.” Hunter changed the subject and asked, “What should be done with all the bodies?” Vlad somberly answered, “There are people out there already this morning collecting anything of value. Pyotr said he could melt the steel from the soldiers and put it to good use making things for the Darsai. I suggest we use the two Komatsu bulldozers and dig a couple of pits, burn the bodies in the pits and cover them. We certainly can’t leave them outside exposed any longer. Who knows what kind of diseases could be caught from the rotting bodies.”

  Hunter agreed and then asked Vlad, “Can the gas-guzzling Russian A.P.C.s make it to the coast and back on the diesel we have left? I think two dozen heavily armed men with A.P.C.s can handle what’s left, don’t you?” Vlad thought a moment, and answered, “Just to be safe, I think we should load-up one of the KAMAZ-6150 Cargo Trucks with as a couple dozen more troops to go along. We can always get more diesel fuel. By the way, Boris wants us to build a 100,000 gallon tank for diesel along the river so he can get fuel for his ship and the King can get fuel for his military and farm equipment.” Hunter looked up and replied, “Farm equipment?” Vlad smiled and told him, “The King and his sister saw the big green machines with a yellow deer on the side harvesting their wheat fields. They have requested some of those machines.” Hunter laughed and replied, “Well, so much for being sneaky at night. I’d imagine half the castle took a look. No wonder they weren’t too shocked when the ship arrived.”

  “Now, let’s get serious a moment” said Hunter. “I don’t want to take an invading force with me to Niccaros. I think we should have me and our Marines, in body armor, accompany the King to their capital. I plan to deliver their King and General’s body to their doorstep and let them know that they need to stay on their own side of the ocean. I doubt my peaceful gesture will be well received, but I think that 24 Marines and a Light Destroyer overhead should be able to deal with any situation.” Vlad asked, “When.” Hunter didn’t want to put it off, answering, “Tomorrow; I’ll make a gateway and save on travel time. I’ll tell the King this morning. I definitely want to bring this whole thing to a conclusion so we can go home. Do you even remember what Jesserrica looks like?” He removed his wallet with a picture of himself and his wife standing tanned in their bathing suits with a crystal clear bay behind them. They made a nice looking couple. Hunter handed it back and said, “I think we should look into building a few resorts like that on Verron. No place in the Universe has clearer water or more beautiful islands and beaches than we do; might be a good investment plan for you and your wife.” Hunter could see the gears turning. The seed had been planted. If he knew Jesserrica like he thought he did, she would be talking to Michael soon about start-up money and King Verron about a prime location. He quickly shook his head, thinking, “God, I miss Verron!”

  That evening after a celebration dinner and awards ceremony honoring the wounded, dead and brave, Prince Hunter let the King know what he felt they needed to do about Niccaros. He agreed completely and was anxious to get things settled between the two kingdoms. Hunter couldn’t help but smile as the King kept fingering his new toy, presented to him by the Russians who would soon call Darsai home. The RSh-12 was a monster of a handgun. It made Dirty Harry’s .44 Magnum look like a popgun. The Russian made revolver fired 12.7x55mm shells. It was definitely a two-handed weapon and you can forget about any accuracy, but there was nothing it couldn’t stop. The King even had a custom holster for it with his initials on it.

  That evening Hunter made a jump to the Light Destroyer orbiting overhead and asked the very bored Marines if they wanted to get out for a little fresh air. He didn’t have to ask twice. The next morning the King was accompanied by 24 Marines in gray body armor. They all looked just like the Dark Night. Hunter allowed them to carry their laser rifles and two shoulder held plasma cannons. He knew they had enough thermal grenades and plasma grenades to level a city. Even if they faced another group of priests with The Power, he felt like they would have no problems. The men from the ship had watched the battle on Darsai from the drones above. As they exited the castle, for the first time they saw the results up close and personal. All of them had seen the aftermath of battles before, but what really got their attention was the huge circle in the middle that was blasted clean of everything except dirt that had crystalized into glass and melted metal. They had been in numerous battles on Earth, but none had ever seen a battlefield strewn with such carnage. Those who had remained on the ship no longer complained about being left out. The King, Hunter and the 24 man Marine escort walked to the other side of the ridge and retrieved the two bodies to be returned to Niccaros and their Zylners. Out of sight of the castle, Hunter made a gateway to a spot he had picked out while reviewing the drones video surveillance.

  The quiet spot along the shore just below the King and Queens castle and the capital of Niccaros offered the illusion, as they walked toward town, that the small group had come from the ocean, and their ship was somewhere along the coast. They drew a lot of attention from those along their route to the city of Niccaros. People soon recognized the bodies of their King and his General and the solid gold of the royal saddle and tack. This one brave man who dared to walk through their streets with a crown on his head and only twenty-four men for protection was soon being jeered at and cursed and taunted by the crowds that gathered along their route. Paul had attached an activated forcefield reactor on the King’s belt and was glad he had; people began to throw rocks and rotten fruit at the arrogant men casually strolling toward the most powerful and sacred place in the Kingdom. As bold as the crowds were, they were still smart enough to keep their distance from a man that had obviously defeated their immortal god-King. Before they covered the two mile walk to the main gate, fifty men on Zlyners rode swiftly from the gate wearing full body armor and carrying long lances and shields. They encircled the intruders and their Captain rode forward. King Darsai did the talking, informing them, “I am King Darsai of Darsai. I am here to declare that your army sent to conquer my kingdom has been defeated and none survived. I have come here to deliver your King and his General’s body. The other dead have been properly taken care of. I also come here to warn you that should you ever cross the ocean again for any reason other than commerce, you will be dealt with as I have dealt with these men. He took the reins of the animals and handed them to the Captain who had ridden forward, saying, “I demand an audience with the person in charge, since your King no longer lives. I intend to settle this matter before I return. Now, go get whoever is you’re ruler. I will wait here for your reply.”

  They stood silently, surrounded by fifty men pointing their lances at them as the Captain of the Guard led the dead bodies of their leaders back into the city gate. A large crowd had gathered along the tops of the fifty-foot high wall surrounding the city and others began to gather from both inside and outside the city gates. The small group did not have to wait very long for their reply. In thirty minutes, no less than 200 archers with cr
ossbows came jogging out of the city gate, fanning in equal numbers to the left and the right, forming two rows of armed crossbows aimed at the men from Darsai. The local crowds began to move back to make room for any fighting, fearing the wild crossbow bolt that may strike them. Another one hundred armed soldiers on Zylners followed behind the archers and filed in behind the double rows. Behind them came a big man in bright silver with gold trim on his armor, with a mace in one hand and long sword in the other. Beside him jogged a giant that was at least as tall as a Klelta. Hunter judged him to be over ten feet tall. Covered in thick leather and steel in the vital places, he still moved with the agility of a much smaller man. Hunter did not want to be one to stare, but it was impossible to ignore the fact that the man only had one eye; one very large round-eye, right in the middle of his forehead. Hunter couldn’t help but think of the Cyclops in Homer’s Odyssey. He carried two large swords and looked like he knew how to use them. With his Cyclops standing at his side, the other man spoke in a loud voice, “I am now King Ronar. How dare you come into my Kingdom and make demands of me or the Queen Mother. I have decided you will not leave my kingdom alive. I will deliver your bodies to your castle in Darsai.” It didn’t go unnoticed that the man in dark gray armor next to King Darsai began to laugh. Hunter couldn’t help himself, he stepped forward and declared, “I am the Kings champion; no snot nosed, arrogant, spoiled rotten, Mama’s boy threatens my King and lives, so either apologize or you and that ugly thing next to you will have to face me.”

  The King looked over at Hunter and shrugged, as if to ask, “What are you doing?” Hunter simply quoted his favorite childhood cartoon that he used to watch with his dad, “I’ve stands all I can stands and I can’t stands no more!” Hunter was getting tired of this whole mess and was ready to go home, he did not want to waste time dealing with another person as full of themselves as King Ronar and his army. The big man moved faster than you would expect, drawing both swords as he raced forward, swinging each with enough force to cut a man in two. Hunter, wanting to end it as quickly as possible, grabbed his laser sabre from his side. Did a quick circle around the giant and using jump speed and four strokes, severed both legs, split him in half above the hips and removed his head. The body parts, still carrying the giant’s forward motion scattered on the ground in five separate pieces. Seeing his champion and bodyguard defeated, the new King spurred his mount towards King Darsai swinging his mace and sword. The King calmly lifted his Russian made 12.7mm revolver with both handed and a deafening sound echoed off the surrounding walls. The bullet hit the charging King square in the chest and left an exit hole six inches wide on his back; hitting him so hard it knocked him backwards off his Zylner. The archers were just about to release their bolts when 24 fully automatic 5mm laser rifles ripped through them and the mounted cavalry, killing them in seconds.

  Hunter looked at the King with the smoking gun and said, “I’m afraid that didn’t go very well, but the guy really did piss me off.” The King had never heard the expression before but understood the gist of the comment and agreed, then said, “Damn this thing is loud, my ears are still ringing.” He looked over at his handy work and smiled as he put the big gun back in his holster. It was then that Hunter noticed a hush fall over the surrounding crowd and people beginning to move even farther away than before. A loud voice, as if amplified, came from the city wall, saying, “You dare to defy the Goddess Nicci!” Hunter looked up and saw one very angry looking woman in a bright red robe and hair that looked like Cruella de Vil; black hair with a wide white streak running through the middle. She did not look like a nice lady. He recognized the robes worn by the dozen men and women on either side of her; sorcerers. Hunter was not about to be intimidated by this woman and her toadies. He yelled back up at the group on the wall, “First of all I don’t know who you are, nor do I care. Secondly, I just vaporized a half-dozen of your pretty little priests and I won’t mind adding more to my body count.”

  The rather narcissistic woman declared, “I am the Goddess Nicci; Queen and High Priestess of Niccaros and wife of the God Ronar.” Before she could continue, Hunter thought of his grandpa on Klelta and replied, “My name is Prince Hunter. I come from a family of god killers. There is but one true God and I’m sorry, but you’re just not Him.” A huge fireball, powered by the linking of the Queen and her 12 sorcerers, came hurtling from the top of the wall. Hunter blew it apart and fragments went flying in every direction. He was getting tired of these people who abused their power and used it to enslave the bodies and the minds of other people and he was in no mood to exchange fireballs or lightning bolts with this woman. He suddenly had a complete understanding of how a whitematter round worked. He threw a ball no larger than a golf-ball at the jeering faces along the wall, as they were thinking, “Is this little ball the best he can do?” When the tiny ball hit the wall just below the parapet it exploded into the familiar bright flash of a whitematter round. When the flash cleared, a section of wall forty-feet wide was missing. It reached halfway down the fifty foot wall. The King and the Marines looked on in astonishment as Hunter turned and said, “I’m sure glad that worked. It would have been embarrassing if that little ball just bounced off the wall.”

  In moments the streets around them were vacated. None of the onlookers were brave enough to stick around to see what happened next. In this Kingdom it would be appropriate to say, “The goddess is dead; long live the God.” Hunter and King Darsai headed for the open gate to the city. At first, as the King and his dark warriors began to walk down the street, there was silence and the people just stared. Then the reality set in that their Goddess Nicci was dead and so were her son and husband and Cyclops Champion, they decided that this new King would be taking their place as their new god. It made perfect sense to them. Soon people were bowing before them and self-mutilating in sacrifice to their new god. Both women and men were coming forward offering themselves sexually to the King and his men. Others were offering their children. Most of the children were freely offering themselves. Women with babies in their arms were holding them forward to be sacrificed to their new god. People in the streets began to celebrate the arrival of the new god and the place became a sea of debauchery. By the time they had walked through half the city and came to what was obviously the Temple of Nicci, they had seen virtually any immoral and obscene act imaginable.

  In one of the shops a man was selling baby skin purses; he had other adults skinned and racked beside his shop. There were drugs and homosexuality and nudity. People were in such a wild-frenzy that fights broke out and no one even noticed or cared if someone got stabbed or beaten to death. Hunter and King Darsai entered the temple in the center of the city and left the Marines to guard the entrance. As they worked their way deeper into the halls covered with every form of vulgar art and statue, they heard a woman’s voice repeating some kind of chant. Over the sound of the chanting they heard the distinct sound of a baby crying. They were both smart enough to know what was going on. The two raced for the sound. They flung open a set of heavy double brass doors and before them stood a priestess as naked as the day she was born standing over two infant children lying on a cold granite slab of an alter; a long knife raised above her head as she completed the chants to her Goddess Nicci. Hunter was just ready to release a plasma ball when his ears were nearly shattered by the sound of a 12.7mm round discharging in a marbled echo chamber. The priestess was almost blown in half as she was thrown backwards from the tremendous impact of the lead; the dagger clanged to the floor.

  For a man who had never had any children, the King showed remarkable tenderness to the twin infant boys about to die on the cold alter. He found a curtain hanging from the wall and sliced it with his dagger and made something to wrap the two in for warmth. He carried them lovingly in his arms as they walked out of the temple. As he held perfect innocence in his arms and looked out over the most corrupt and perverted city he had ever seen, the King turned to Hunter with a tear running down his cheek and said, “Thi
s place needs to be wiped from the surface of my planet.” Hunter remembered the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and how God decided to destroy that city because they were beyond saving. The King had made his decision. Hunter formed a gateway back to where they arrived. Using his implant, he contacted the A.I. above in the Light Destroyer and commanded that two 100mm whitematter rounds be fired into the most densely populated city on Darsai in an over lapping pattern. He didn’t want one brick of the place to be left. Almost before he stopped speaking, a flash of blinding light filled the sky. When it cleared, there was no longer a city; only a gigantic hole quickly filling with water from a nearby river. The surviving people who lived outside the city fell to the ground and cried; some out of relief that the tyranny of the goddess was no more; others because everything they thought to be true was gone.

  King Darsai made a quick announcement before he left, saying, “I am not your god, I am your King. Tell everyone that Nicci and Ronar are destroyed and the new King will rule with fairness to those who obey. I will not leave you helpless and without leadership. I will soon send an interim military governor to establish new rule in this country. I proclaim that there are no longer any slaves and no more wars. We will live in peace and work together for what is best for all people. But bear in mind, you have seen what happens to those who defy me. I will not tolerate even a hint of Nicci worship or the practices of that perverted religion. Tell your friends to tell their friends and let the word be spread across your entire country. You are now under the rule of King Darsai. I will be back very soon to begin the changes needed for this country.” With that, Hunter led the King with his two infants and the Marines back through a gateway to the palace at Darsai.