The Mansion seemed empty when Paul woke the next morning. He entered the kitchen and didn’t even smell burnt toast. Ninety-nine and Ilna left early to go look at possible building sites for their first home. Zimuel and Tlase slept in since Ibrihim and Lydia were on Earth with Tala. Hunter was at the Marine training camp, Amber in Colorado Springs, Chase and Daniel off with the twins, Camil and Cali went rafting with a dozen Catmandoes. Paul smiled when he realized it was actually a date. Cali had found a really handsome young man who flew Fighter’s for Tecalna. Paul fought the urge to call him “Tom” and Camil jokingly called him “TC” because he commanded a Fighter Squadron. Katelyn was in Australia surfing. Even the Queen Mother was away visiting friends. He ate a bowl of brand flakes and washed them down with his first Diet Coke of the day and decided to stir up some fun. He called Zimuel and Tlase first and woke them up. He then called Marcus and Danyel and his brother Kary. No one on Verron had seen Tala race or heard Katelyn in one of her beach party concerts. He was about to change that.
He knew that Marcus, Danyel and Kary had a bit more difficulty traveling to Earth than he did so he was going to take them all on a trip to Australia to see the girls in action and Zimuel and Tlase could see their two kids and see what a motorcycle race was all about. He, Zimuel and Tlase went by to get Kary. His wife Theresa couldn’t make it. She had just opened Verron’s first Italian Restaurant, owned, managed and all cooking done by Italians. It was only open for dinner and was always packed. Paul knew the food was good because he gained 15 pounds eating it every night when he lived with Kary and his wife. They made a jump to Marcus’ house and were greeted by two mothers who couldn’t find a babysitter; they were off with her and Michael’s son on a date. Paul just told them to bring the MJs with them, they would enjoy the race. In about twenty minutes Paul stepped through a gateway with Zimuel, Tlase, Kary, Marcus, Danyel, Michael, Rachel, MJ and MJ2 to the smell of burnt rubber and motorcycle fuel.
Although Tala had been riding motorcycles since she was eight and was always racing with her brother or her Grandpa Kary on dirt-bikes, no one had seen her race. Paul hoped Mama didn’t freak-out when she saw her little girl doing a 170 mph down the long straightaway of Phillips Island. The surprised look on Tala’s face was worth the effort in getting everyone together to attend her race. No one was surprised by what they saw in the pits of Princess Racing while they prepared for the big race. It wasn’t the last race, but it was the most important so far in the season, since Tala was far enough ahead in points that if she got a first place today, she would win the over-all championship even if she didn’t finish the last two races of the season. Marcus and Danyel couldn’t help but smile at their daughter’s personal taste being expressed in her racing team. She had a matched set of Ducati 899 Pinigales. They both had black frames and dark pink bodywork. Her leathers were pink with black trim and she had a pink Shoei helmet with a white bow drawn on it. On the back of her leathers was the name Princess. Her pit crew, all men, wore black jeans with pink team jerseys. He then did a double-take and realized that two of the crew was Ibrihim and Lydia, dressed like everyone else. She at least let her teammate Petty Officer Sloan ride a bike with his personal choice of color. His bike was painted in the color scheme of the Australian Navy, white and blue and the back of his leathers bore the Royal Navy Flag. His crew was all fellow sailors. He had become a true rally point for the men and the Navy Team, as they were often called were running for a possible second place if they did well in the next three races. Their race for points was a bit tighter than Tala’s. Neil Hodgson was a great sport and wore the same pink shirt and black jeans as the rest of the crew. One of the good natured seamen even volunteered to be Tala’s umbrella boy and hold the big pink golf umbrella over her head while they sat in the sun waiting for the race to start; the male racers had umbrella girls.
Tala almost let her motorcycle fall over she got off of it so fast to greet her supporters from Verron. The first person she hugged was her Grandpa Kary, he was the one who bought her the first motorcycle she ever had and taught her how to ride. She next hugged Mom and Dad and picked-up MJ. He introduced her family to her team and by then it was time to line up on the grid to prepare for the warm-up lap and the start of the race. Neil lined-up along the pit wall with the rest of the family. There were no pit stops in this race, but there were constant messages to the rider on the signal board. Neil personally handled the board. When they lined up, it was hard not to notice that Tala was in the pole position. She had obviously scored the best lap-time during qualification. Neil told Paul that after the first race there were complaints that Tala did not start according to regulations with both feet on the ground. After much debate over the fact that she was too short to reach the track surface they compromised, allowing her to dangle her feet down the side of the bike, but she was not allowed to put her feet on the pegs until the start light flashed green. There was no shortage of photographers snapping pictures of the girl who balanced her bike without touching the ground. She had quite a following, especially among the female racers of the world. Tala made sure everyone knew that her role model growing-up was Elena Myers. She hoped to meet her one day. Marcus realized right away that the handsome young man holding the umbrella over Tala’s head had a crush on her and she obviously liked him too. The warm-up lap went off without a hitch and the riders repositioned themselves on the grid. It was race-time.
Both MJs were having the time of their life. Perched on their Daddy’s shoulders for a better view, they shouted Tala’s name continuously. Danyel was about to bite her nails but stuck her hands in her pocket instead. The noise of the motorcycles launching away from the line was exhilarating. Tala was at least a bike length ahead of the others as 40 motorcycles tried to jamb themselves into a corner hardly wide enough for five. It was a good thing that Tala and Sloan had a good start, there was a seven bike pile-up in the middle of the pack and those behind scattered all over the track to avoid an impact. By the time the leaders cleared the next corner the red flag came out to stop the race and make a restart. It was almost 30 minutes by the time the track marshal was satisfied with the track condition and they lined up to start again. By this time Danyel and Marcus were a nervous wreck from watching three of the riders being taken off the track in an ambulance. The warning flags went green and the starter began the countdown to begin racing. Once again, Tala got the hole-shot and was three lengths ahead of the battle for second place. Sloan was in for the battle of his career as he and three others swapped positions over and over. Meanwhile Tala just widened her gap, enjoying herself but wishing someone was giving her a race. It was then she decided that if she wins this one, she will ride support for Sloan to help him clinch his second place. Paul and Kary were timing each lap, which seemed to get faster and faster. She finally broke her old track record in the 600 class and then on her last lap, broke it again. Sloan managed to finish in second, but only half a wheel ahead of his hard pressing rival on a Honda CBR600RR. Tala was over 10 seconds ahead of the battle raging behind her. The only scary moments in the race for Mom was when Tala had to work her way through a few lapped riders that didn’t have the good sense to get out of her way.
Paul was thrilled to see Tala on the center position of the podium. She had won so many races already this season that by the fourth race they began to have a trophy boy for Tala and Mountain Dew for her to spray everyone with. There was a photographic frenzy when the local fans realized that King Verron and Tala’s entire family was at the race. After making sure the equipment was loaded into the big black trucks with pink lettering and that Sloan and his crew was loaded and ready to go, Tala headed out with her family to go see Katelyn on the other side of Australia. Since Sloan and his mates knew where it was and were just as anxious to go as Katelyn’s family, they accompanied the group from Verron to the beach. Before they left, Marcus and Danyel invited Neil Hodgson, Sloan and their pit crews to Verron for a victory celebration to be held after Sloan locked down second place. If he
did that, it would also give Neil Hodgson and his team the Team Championship for their division. He made a point to tell Marcus and Danyel what a pleasure it was to work with someone who listened to everything he told her and that she was the most skilled racer he had ever worked with.
When they exited the gateway they were at Lennox Head Beach, south of Brisbane. The surfing competition was wrapping up for the day and Katelyn had finished third in the women’s division. There were girls competing with her that literally surfed these waves every day and actually lived at the beach. Reading the waves was every bit as important as riding them. They had the edge in that area. When Katelyn saw her family step out of the crowd to observe the awards ceremony she grabbed her board and told her Dad, “Watch me Daddy.” She sounded just like a little girl at the pool trying to get her Daddy’s attention. Katelyn looked like a fish in the water. She and Chase had always loved anything they could do that got them wet. If she had caught the wave she caught showing her family how she surfed and rode that wave as well as she did, she would have won the competition. The girl who won first prize was so impressed with Katelyn’s ride that she jokingly said, “If she thinks she can have my trophy, she’s nuts.” The girl in second laughed and replied, “Well, I’m going to give her mine. I would be too embarrassed to leave here with it after watching that run.” When Katelyn walked from the water back to her family, she received more applause than she did during the actual competition. The first place girl reached over and took Katelyn’s trophy from Danyel’s hands. She then handed it to the second place girl and took the second place for herself. She then handed her first place trophy to Katelyn. Katelyn laughed with her two friends and introduced them as Jennifer and Patsy. She added, “They will be staying on Verron for a few weeks or months as soon as the tournament season is over here.” Four very handsome surfer boys walked-up and were introduced as the other four who would be coming to Verron. When they were introduced to King Verron, they expressed their amazement by using the universal language of the surfer and skier, saying, “DUDE!!”
While Katelyn went back to the beach house where she was staying with Jennifer and Patsy, who lived there during surf season, the rest of the family went to a nearby seafood restaurant. Ibrihim and Lydia were having the time of their young lives; motorcycle racing, surfing competition and oceans. Ibrihim was almost embarrassed looking at the scantily clad girls on the beach. He tried to hide Lydia’s eyes from seeing it, but it was a hopeless task. Paul heard him tell her, “Don’t get any ideas. These women dress like the world they live in. It is wrong for them to display their bodies in such a way.” Paul could tell that his little sister respected the opinion of her brother and protector. Ibrihim then began to tell Zimuel and Tlase how he wanted a motorcycle of his own. Lydia wanted her own as well and just dared them to say Ibrihim could have one and she couldn’t. Tala made it impossible for the doubting parents to say no, when she told them, “Chase and I have outgrown our old bikes and the MJs will be years before they can ride them, they can have ours.” Marcus agreed and Danyel didn’t argue, she just wanted some of the junk out of her garage. Zimuel and Tlase never did say no or yes, but the kids assumed the bikes to be theirs and lavished their affections on their Mom and Dad. Paul just smiled and wondered how long it would take them to realize that they had just been outmaneuvered by a bunch of kids, who probably planned it just like it went down.
Katelyn and her friends joined the Verron’s for supper and escorted them to the outdoor pavilion where the evening’s concert was to be held. Paul and Kary laughed at the thought of “The Little River Band” being in concert, but realized, that like many rock bands started in the 70s or 80s were on their second and third generation of members. They were no exception to the trend. Katelyn was going to be one of the opening performers for the band. She had a strong local following and when it finally came her turn to hit the stage, the local surfer crowd that she had been hanging out with for the past six months, went crazy with applause. Paul had forgotten just what a performer Katelyn was. In a family of musicians it was difficult to stand out when among them, but when she hit that stage she was the only person in the world and she knew how to play an audience. Her Grandpa Kary had taught her to play guitar and she used to enter every talent show she could find. The last time Paul had seen her sing or play other than with the family was when she was 10 or 11 years old. This sun bleached 19 year-old blond and tanned girl on the stage before him was not that same girl. She had an air of confidence that would rival any seasoned performer. She opened with Katy Perry’s California Gurls then switched to a country song of Carrie Underwood’s. Paul and Kary couldn’t help but joke with each other about how they used to call her Carrie Underwear just to get Katelyn riled-up. She closed her three song set with a song from Abby Dawson’s Rise Up Album. Singing an Australian song to an Australian audience was the perfect finishing touch. Katelyn had a back-up band, but played her own guitar and handled the guitar solos of all three songs. With Kary, Joe and Paul around, she rarely got to play lead at home, she was really quite good. Marcus cheered, Danyel cried and the MJs screamed and yelled, “Ka Ka!!” Other’s heard the rambunctious four year-olds and soon joined in the chant, “Ka Ka!! – Ka Ka!! When they started shouting for an encore, the promoter sent her back on the stage to do one more. She chose Olivia Newton Johns Hopelessly Devoted to You. She chose well. It was the best any had heard it sung since Olivia recorded it. Most there felt it was even better since she was doing it live and playing her own music. Paul wondered how she was going to balance a career as a singer and Dragon Guard assignments. He hoped she could do both, she was incredible at both.
It had been a long day and both the MJs and even Lydia were asleep when they got home to Verron. Before he left their house, Paul reminded Katelyn and Tala that they were needed to do the final checkout flight of the new Interceptors before they were delivered to Earth. They also needed to help Chase and Daniel out by testing a couple of new weapon system that they had developed for the Fighters and Light Destroyers. Both girls were on top of the world from the day’s excitement. Their parents couldn’t stop talking about how amazing their daughters were. Kary was the proudest man alive. He after-all taught Katelyn to play guitar and Tala how to ride a motorcycle. Paul sat silent for a moment and thought; I taught them how to blow things up, kill people a thousand different ways and to fly Fighter ships. He knew that their other talents would be most remembered, but it was the ones they learned from him that would keep them and billions of others alive. He was still feeling guilty about it when he finally said his prayers and fell asleep. It had been a great day and he was so glad he managed to convince Tala’s and Katelyn’s family to make the trip. He wondered how long it would take for the day’s events to make the national news broadcasts on Earth. He also made a point to be sure Josh broadcast it all over Verron. He wanted his nieces to be remembered for more than just being members of the Dragon Guard.
Chapter 9
The USS Carl Vinson was 600 miles off the northern coast of Somalia, right between the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Rear Admiral Randall Gilbert was waiting at the precise coordinates given to him by the Navy Command. He was reassigned from his position as Anti-Terrorist Activities Coordinator in the Pentagon to command this Top Secret Mission in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Very few details were given about operation Clean House except that it was a joint Navy and CIA operation and would include allied soldiers from over a half dozen different countries. He wasn’t too thrilled to find out that the entire operation was being controlled and commanded by the Nation of Verron. He was told that the infiltration team that had been trained on Verron in secret would be arriving at precisely 2200, under the cover of darkness. He looked out the window of the command deck and thought, “They’re getting a lot more cover than darkness.” He was having a difficult time holding his position in the Tropical Storm kicking-up twenty-foot waves and monsoon rains. He couldn’t even see the railing around the outside of the bridge
and just knew that he would have to abort the mission, after-all, no aircraft could land in this kind of weather.
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