Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  There was a standing ovation for Paul’s speech, but he knew that many were seething with anger at the compromises they had to make by agreeing to the terms of the treaty. There would be some who lost jobs in the near future and would find their skills no longer of any value. He truly hoped to find a home for as many of them as possible on Verron. There was a large reception at the White House officially introducing King Verron and his leaders to the leaders of the United States. Paul promised that he would welcome those who had problems or concerns to discuss them with his staff at his temporary offices at 520 Park Avenue in Manhattan. He informed them that this location would serve as his temporary Embassy until the Southern Mississippi location was finished. After he made the announcement, he smiled as he told Donald and Leona, “I’ve been so busy, I completely forgot to tell you. You have a new place to live. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble renting your current residence. But I really do need the two of you to relocate to my new 12,000 square foot place down the road from where you are now. From what Hunter tells me, your place is too small for any serious entertaining.” Don and Leona now realized that with Verron out in the open it was going to be impossible for them to remain obscure, but a 12,000 square foot condo on Park Avenue was just a bit over the top. Leona smiled at her husband saying, “Think there will be enough closet space for my shoes?”

  The royal family received a lot of attention from those at the reception and Paul made a point of letting everyone know that Prince Michael Verron and Princess Renee where the starting point for any business to be discussed with Verron. An invitation was extended to everyone there to make a trip and see the home of their new allies for themselves. Rooms were booked for the royal family and leaders of Verron at the Ritz-Carlton. Everyone stayed there except Daniel and Tala, who were guests of the President’s family and stayed in the White House with the Presidents two children. They finally got to sleep about midnight and rose early for their trip to Great Britain. The poor Secret Service and Park Police ended up with the job of guarding the spaceship that remained in front of the Capitol Building. Everyone in Washington had taken a picture of it by the time they departed the next morning.

  The Dragon Wagon landed in the middle of Parliament Square across from the Parliament Building and King Verron and his entourage was greeted by Prime Minister Camber and both Prince William and Prince Harry. Tala broke protocol and gave Harry a hug when they greeted each other and made a point of introducing Prince Hunter to his counterpart in Britain. The typical British pomp and circumstance went right out the window as King Verron and the Prime Minister chatted with each other while the royal sons of Great Britain got acquainted with the royal family of Verron. Once inside they were greeted by the Queen in the throne room. The British were a bit upset that this group of Royals did not bow to the Queen, but she took it all in stride, realizing she wouldn’t have bowed to him either. Paul’s speech to Parliament was short and sweet as he committed to work closely with their MI6 and Military to fight terrorism in the British colonies and work closely to support economic growth and trade between Great Britain and Verron. Behind the scenes, at a reception held by Prime Minister Camber, they discussed the possibility of providing an Interceptor for Great Britain and firmed up the contract to provide body armor for 3000 soldiers. They discussed some strategic locations in Africa that needed immediate attention for both the eradication of terrorism, and also were in desperate need of clean energy, clean water and agricultural development. King Verron assured them that Great Britain would be included in anything he did both militarily and economically. Before the reception was over Prince Harry had a firm invitation to visit Verron as the guest of Prince Hunter. Paul had a chance to spend a little bit of one-on-one time with Queen Elizabeth and offered her rejuvenation if she should decide to make the trip with Prince Harry. They attended a formal dinner that evening and still managed to get up bright and early to head for Germany. The BBC and other news agencies had mixed reviews about the Royal visit. One reporter declared the Beverly Hillbilly’s visit London; criticizing the total lack of formality of the people from Verron. The less stuffy of Great Britain thought it was refreshing to see leaders act like normal people for a change.

  King Verron was greeted on the lawn in front the Parliament building in Berlin by both Chancellor Merkel and President Gabrial; there was no shortage of photo-ops for the dozens of reporters awaiting the arrival of the representatives from Verron. By the time they had met with Chancellor Merkel, President Gabrial and the Parliament of Germany the day after meeting with the British, Paul and his crew were already tired of political games and formalities. The German’s were still trying to negotiate a non-negotiable deal. They felt that since Paul Verron specifically requested an arrangement with BMW that they could parlay that interest into more by attaching other deals to the agreement. Michael smiled because he knew it was coming, Paul Verron had finally heard enough and rose from his seat, saying; “These talks are over. It’s a shame we couldn’t work things out. I have no doubt that there will be others more agreeable with my offer and won’t waste my time playing games.” Before he reached the chamber door he was asked politely by the Chancellor, President and the CEO of BMW to please reconsider. Paul turned to Michael and simply said, “Handle it,” and left the room, followed by every member of the Verron leadership, except Michael Verron. As soon as the room quieted down from the excitement that had just been stirred-up, everyone turned to look at Michael. He sat down in his seat and opened his briefcase, removing a copy of the original agreement that had been submitted to the German government. He reached across the conference table and handed it to the Chancellor along with an ink pen. He finally spoke, commenting, “King Verron didn’t leave me here to negotiate. As far as he’s concerned the deal is already on the table. So I either leave with a signed agreement or I leave without one, but you may be certain of one thing. He will not come back to you with a counter offer. He will either do without or take the deal somewhere else. I’ve never seen him compromise and I don’t believe he’s about to change his ways.”

  There was a bit of grumbling from some of the Cabinet members when Chancellor Merkel grabbed the pen and signed, then slid the contract to the President on his right. It was then signed and witnessed by several others and handed back to Michael. He rose to leave and told those at the table, “My uncle will live up to his agreement with you and when he sees you doing your part, I have no doubt there will be more opportunities in the future, but just remember, never try to manipulate, intimidate or take advantage of him like you did today. If you do it again he’ll cut you off for good. We’ll see you at the reception dinner tonight.”

  That evening at Charlottenburg Palace, Paul arrived at the reception as if nothing had happened during the meetings earlier in the day. The leaders of Verron had been briefed about what Paul did. None were surprised, most were amused, but no one wanted to be blindsided if the subject came up over dinner. One of the first people who sought out Paul was Jon Ulrich, President of the Federation of German Industries. He expressed a strong interest in traveling to Verron to review industries where the two Nations could enhance each other’s capabilities. Paul liked the man and immediately had Michael and Inga establish a time for him to visit. He was proud of his people. He knew he wasn’t the only one getting stressed by this trip.

  By the time they got to Paris, they really just wanted to sign the treaty and go home. To Paul’s surprise President Hollanda treated he and his staff members from Verron like they were his family and housed everyone in the Presidential Palace. They kept the meetings limited to the President and his cabinet members only and Paul did not need to make any public speeches. He did however grant an interview with France 24. When he showed up at the studio for the interview with Prince Hunter and Princess Renee along with him the news interviewer acted like he was a bit put-out that his planned attack on King Verron would not go well then decided it would be even more fun to make the whole family look stupid. He was soon put i
n his place when all three Verron’s spoke French like a native and never fell for his manipulative questions. Before it was over he looked like a fool and the Royal family of Verron appeared to be the most poised and polished professionals that ever ran a country. The commentaries on the interview declared Paul Verron to be a strong and commanding leader, Princess Renee to be extremely outspoken and a master at getting what she wants, and Prince Hunter as an arrogant and handsome, self-confident man of the world; the French loved all three. They spent the rest of the day visiting the typical tourist attractions and actually had fun at the reception held for them at the President’s Palace that evening. Hunter ended up being the center of attention and spent a great deal of time signing pictures of himself that had appeared in French fashion magazines; especially the ones with his shirt off. Amber and his mother Renee were not about to let him live it down. They began to harass him right away but quickly backed off when several young men began to ask Amber, Katelyn and Tala to sign pictures they had downloaded from the Internet with them dressed in tank tops and shorts as they played soccer. It was the first time in a while that Renee was actually speechless when she suddenly realized just how much her daughter and her cousins had matured over the past five years.

  Israel had agreed to not put on a dog and pony show for the King and family. In fact, only King Verron and his military advisors met with the Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense, General Eshnel, Defense Minister Barak, Director of the Shen Bet (Israeli Intelligence) Major General Dagon and a few military advisors. Paul, General Zarman, Brigadier Hall, Vlad, Hunter, Kary and Michael were the only ones involved in the private talks between countries. Everyone else took the opportunity to visit the Holy Lands and take a tour of Jerusalem. It was no surprise that terrorism and defense of Israel were the main topics discussed. Vladimir, with Paul’s permission, gave Minister of Defense Barak a flash-drive with enough programing on it to task Chinese, Russian, Iranian, Pakistani and Indian satellites. They agreed to be a part of the Terrorist Eradication Team planned by Verron. Kary showed them a defensive weapons system designed by Chase and Daniel that would not allow any missiles or aircraft to cross their borders. If it was in the air without a transponder code, it was automatically shot down. The only exception to that was a bird; everything else in the air would be scrap. Capable of firing 20mm laser darts at 6000 rounds per minute with 100% accuracy, these would be placed at strategic locations along the border of Israel. In addition, four low altitude target acquisition drones would be positioned over Israel that were capable of identifying the precise location of hostile fire and launch a strike against it. It wasn’t cheap, but well worth every penny. By the time they left, Hunter was once again informed by Major General Dagon that he would be welcome to attend the Mossad training and King Verron offered to let Mossad come to Verron to train with his Marines. They had a nice dinner for just those in the meeting and soon returned to the Inbal Jerusalem Hotel. Hunter found the Dragon Guard and they took off to see what they could of Jerusalem before it got too late. He was envious that everyone else had a chance to go on a Holy Land tour while he was stuck in a meeting. He promised himself that he would be back. Paul headed for his room and some rest. He’d rather fly a combat mission against the Jhxunka than attend one more meeting; it just drained him.

  Paul woke in a hot sweat and looked to see that it was 1:20 AM. He had a horrible dream and had woke-up hot, sweaty and depressed. He laid there staring at the ceiling wishing his self to sleep but only managed to become more agitated and anxious. He wasn’t sure exactly what was happening to him. After about twenty more minutes of this overwhelming feeling of despair, he got up and decided to go for a run. He hoped he didn’t get shot running through Jerusalem at 1:40 in the morning. He took off running in no particular direction and with no destination in mind. As he ran through the deserted streets of the city he began to feel like it was a reflection of his own life; deserted, empty and alone. He wasn’t sure where all this gloom and doom was coming from but he didn’t like it and he had to struggle just to keep going. He ran past the Dome of the Rock and soon found himself heading in a Northeastern direction out beyond the walls of the city. It was dark, but he suddenly knew where he was. He ran as quickly as possible and when he reached the top of Golgotha Hill he fell on his face and began to cry. He was praying on the spot where someone else had felt all alone and deserted. Over two thousand years ago Jesus had been crucified where he was falling apart. He began to confess his deepest feelings before his Lord and Savior; the one person he knew could understand how he felt. He asked, “Did you ever have any doubt about whether what you were doing was right or not? Did you ever become so over burdened with the fear of failure that you wanted to just give up? Oh, Lord, was there ever a question as to whether what you were doing was God’s will or your own desires? I know you understand what it feels like to feel you have the responsibility of protecting every living thing from eminent destruction. I feel so inadequate for this job You have given me, or at least I pray it was You who gave this job to me. ‘Cause if this all is something I’ve cooked up and not You’re plan, then I will go down in history as the greatest fool who ever lived. Lord, I can’t afford to fail, too many lives are at stake and there are literally billions of people who have put their faith in me. I used to think I needed You a lot back when I had nothing, now I have more than a human mind can imagine and none of it matters if it isn’t for the right purpose. God, am I being cocky, arrogant and full of myself, or am I a fool? What I pray is that I act like I act and believe what I believe because I am actively doing Your will. Tonight it suddenly hit me; what if I’m wrong. Lord, all this money, all this power, all my physical and mental abilities mean nothing if I’m doing any of this for the wrong reason. Please give me strength to go on, but please give me the wisdom to do this Your way or not at all.”

  Paul laid there on the ground, glad that no one else was around to see the man considered the most powerful man in the Universe lying on his face in the dirt crying like a baby. Finally, God revealed a scripture from John 14:1 “Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” Paul slowly got up on his wobbly legs and began to walk slowly from the top of the hill. He knew that he had placed his faith in the right one; Jesus Christ. He would continue to seek God’s will in all he did and never let his faith waver. He then realized, that the responsibility for everything that he has done and planned to do in the future, was not his. He had to remind himself as he had often told others, if it’s God’s plan, then it’s God’s problem. His legs began to feel stronger and he once again began to run. The sun was coming up when he entered the hotel lobby to be greeted by several of his friends. He grabbed two plates of fruit and a big glass of orange juice off the continental buffet and headed for his room to get cleaned-up. He had one more country to go visit and then he could head home.

  He had just finished getting dressed when his room phone began to ring. He already had his suitcase sitting by the door for the attendant to take downstairs and was ready to head out the door. He almost didn’t answer it. He soon wished he hadn’t. The operator informed him that, NATO Ambassador Harold Braun of Germany was holding for him and insisted that he be put through to Paul as a matter of National Security. Paul smiled at over the dramatization and knew it was just his way of making sure the operator didn’t simply drop his call. He had her put it through and was greeted with an unusually cheerful and polite Harold Braun; he immediately knew he was up to something. Asking, “Good morning Ambassador Braun. What can I do for you this fine morning?” Not one to waste time or exchange too many pleasantries, Mr. Braun immediately told Paul, “I have been asked by Secretary-General Ban Kindo and Major General Land, commander of the U.N. Peacekeeping forces, to invite you to speak before the U.N. next Tuesday. We know that you meet with the Australian Prime Minister later today. That would give you two days to prepare. We felt that it would be best to have you fresh off your six Nation tour when you came to spea
k with those anxious to find out just what King Verron is about.”