Serve and Protect

by Douglas Varnell

  After warm greetings were given by people who had obviously already met, the group boarded the new Shuttle. When they emerged almost an hour later there were two President Hensley’s and everyone was laughing their heads off. The secret service looked confused and almost panicked when one of the Presidents turned into a young Commander Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. Both Presidents were laughing uproariously and slapped Commander Kirk on the back. After a quick Q&A secession with the two real Presidents, the press was given a tour of the new shuttle. The journalist tour was divided into small groups led by the Astronauts who had visited Verron during the final development and the five aliens from Verron. They ended up drawing names by lottery, everyone wanted to be in one of the aliens groups.

  The transition for these experienced astronauts was fairly easy, but there were more than six who needed to be trained, the entire teams from France, Japan and the United States had to be thoroughly familiar with every operating system on this multi-billion dollar spacecraft. The day after the two Presidents visited, they boarded those who were scheduled to be trained and made a shakedown run. Pavel Verron smiled and asked, “How would you like to complete that Mars trip that went so badly?” Samantha smiled and gave him a hug. Several of the others, use to months and years of planning a flight of that magnitude looked terrified. Without a word, the big ship rose from the tarmac of Cape Canaveral and was soon heading for outer space. Many of the people on board had been in training for years, but had not yet left the Earth’s atmosphere. When Cali and Camil walked by and showed them how to open the visual ports in the walls of the ship, they gasped at the view below and the technology that made it possible. But they completely freaked-out when they were over 2000 miles from the Earth’s surface and still had complete gravity. One of the young Japanese scientists looked confused and asked, “Shouldn’t we be floating around or something.” Cali was in the same cabin and informed him, “We can cut off the gravity if you prefer, but it makes for a pretty rough trip.” The others quickly shushed the young science officer.

  At .6LS the 140,000,000 mile trip took less than 2 ½ hours. All those onboard were astounded by this incredible feat. Ninety-nine cruised along the surface of the planet and headed for a mammoth canyon. As he carefully approached the bottom, he pointed out a small cluster of modular housing and research facilities. People on the ground actually waved at the arriving shuttle. He landed nearby and soon, through the swooshing doors of the airlocks, entered a man in Verron body armor. He hit the release button on his environmental suit and smiled his famous King Verron smile, saying “Welcome to Valles Marineris home of the first joint Verron- Earth- Grnardo, Mars exploration center.” There was another hiss from behind Paul and he turned to meet the new arrival. This person also retracted her headgear to reveal an attractive Crimson colored woman with what looked like black tattoos. Paul turned back to the spellbound astronauts and told them, “Allow me to introduce to you Professor Gohanna Gznor, Chief Science Officer of Grnardo. You probably know the planet better by its star system. Gohanna is from Alpha Centauri, just up the road there a little ways,” he said as he pointed toward their nearest star. It looked like some of the astronauts were going to pass-out from shock; others just flat-out didn’t believe it. Admiral Sullivan had met several of the people from Grnardo while on Verron, Gohanna was among them, she greeted her with a hug and said, “Give them a minute, they’ll get used to it. All this is a bit much for them to digest in only a few hours.” Paul went to visit his crew and let Gohanna talk about her Nation and their concerns and the purpose of this research facility that King Verron had suggested they build. After a half hour of conversation, one of the French scientist asked, “Why put the station here, five miles below the surface?” Gohanna smiled the brightest and whitest smile and answered, “Two reasons, one, we get less wind when they begin to blow across the planet at over 300 mph and two, we didn’t have to dig our well as deep to hit water.”

  There were a total of twenty 27 people aboard the Shuttle as it sat on the red surface of Mars. After that last statement from Gohanna they were dying to get off the shuttle and onto the planet’s surface. While they were staring out the large windows at the red planet and the modular buildings arranged neatly on the valley floor, Admiral Sullivan and her lead team opened a door to one side of the common area where those onboard where congregated. She and Navy Captain Swartz reached into the closet sized room and began to call out the names of those onboard. The first to receive the small briefcase sized object looked at it wondering what it was. Sullivan nodded toward Swartz and he demonstrated the objects use. Placing it on the floor, he opened the container and stepped into two foot shaped indentures. The body armor immediately activated and in seconds he was completely enshrouded in a Verron Steel environmental suit. Those who already had one in their hands quickly followed his example, those without one crowded toward the Admiral in anticipation of their own, no one was disappointed. After about 15 minutes, everyone was suited up in their EV-suits except the one who today looked like Natasha Kinski. She was the first one to enter the decompression chamber to exit the ship. Those from Verron laughed as everyone else panicked at the sight of this young girl about to lose her life. She was soon standing outside the hatch waving at the others. Paul explained, “Camil is from a race of very adaptable people. They can survive and even thrive in environments where we could not exist. I’ve seen her do a spacewalk dressed just like she is now and walk the surface of a gas planet unharmed.”

  The rest of the astronauts exited the ship and headed for the research complex. They were surprised by the size. Each of the eight buildings was as big as the largest double-wide modular homes and two stories high. They were connected by climate controlled passageways and each one was powered by a separate whitematter reactor. Inside they found six more Crimson colored Grnardo, four multicolored androids and five normal looking humans from Verron, two of those humans were Russian. After a tour of the facility and introductions were made, the crew from America was invited to come back as soon as possible to join the others in their research. On the way back to the shuttle, King Verron informed the others that he intended to establish a military installation on Mars for the defense and protection of both Earth and Grnardo. He then smiled and added, “Who knows, I may just open-up negotiations with Disney to build Disney Universe-Mars, they seem to have one everywhere else.” By the time the shuttle returned to the Cape, no one questioned the abilities of this crew to teach them things they never imagined.

  It didn’t take long for Pavel and Ilna to discover using the Hobie Cats on the Banana River. One of the young astronauts volunteered to teach them how to sail them and in one long Saturday they had become very proficient. Several times a week, you would see them racing each other up and down the Banana and Indian Rivers. Onlookers were often puzzled by the speeds they often obtained even when the winds were calm, Ilna had learned her lessons on using The Power well; wind was one of her favorite powers. Hon had fallen in love with the 35 foot Cigarette with 2-600hp engines. The big man was trying to figure out a way to get one home. Everyone knew he would have one of his own before he left Earth. Cali and Camil actually enjoyed the Hatteras. Who would have ever figured the two of them as being avid fisher-people. They had seen the fishermen on Verron going out of the harbor leaving Capital city, but had not paid much attention to what they actually did. Both enjoyed the fish, especially Cali, but now were as hooked on the sport as the fish they were reeling in. They also had been given instructions from a few members of the ground crew. The local ground crew loved to fish and had no money for a boat, Cali and Camil had a boat and didn’t know how to fish. They became best of friends. The first time the four of them pulled in front of one of the local seafood buyers to sell their catch of the day, the locals gave them some pretty rude looks. About that time Hon pulled in to refuel his new toy and drew the attention away from Cali. One of the old timers who had lived in the area for years looked at his friends and commented, “Think
that’s something, you shoulda seen the two on the Banana yesterday; looked like a cross between a Billy-goat and a big ole monkey, ‘cept they had hooves.” The mechanic who was part of the shuttles ground crew and Camil’s new friend looked at the two old timers and informed them, “Billy, you and Oscar used to talk about all the strange things going on at the Cape forty years ago. Well, now that we have friends from outer space it’s just going to keep getting stranger. At least they aren’t like the damn Yankees; these folks will actually go home.” Both men smiled and nodded their agreement and climbed onboard to help unload the three hundred pounds of dolphin fish. Billy looked at Cali and she grinned with her sharp little teeth, as he said, “Never knew a cat that wasn’t fascinated with a fish.” The five friendly aliens were soon welcomed in every restaurant and shopping area in Coca Beach. Their favorite place to shop was Ron Jon Surf Shop. Cali and Camil had almost turned into beach bunnies, often tying their boat off shore and swimming into shore to see their friends.

  The highlight of the trip was the weekend they took the SUV they used to drive around town and made a trip to Disney, hitting the Magic Kingdom on day one and Epcot on day two. There is so much strangeness at Disney and most tourist locations in Florida, that although the five stood out in a crowd, especially Hon, no one seemed to dwell on the strangeness of the group. Little kids kept thinking they were Disney characters that were walking the park and kept stopping them to have photographs taken. Everyone enjoyed the rides except Hon. He was so big, he could barely fit in some of them, he did however enjoy all the food. The five were finally identified by several people who had seen them on Facebook pages and other Social Media and asked them for autographs. The Disney management made a photo-op out of having them there and took dozens of pictures of them enjoying Disney World and then Epcot the next day. Their pictures would soon be on TV commercials advertising Disney as the place people travel light-years to see. The money they spent was refunded and when they arrived at Epcot the next day they had VIP passes for everything, including the food and a tour guide to escort them to the front of the lines at every attraction. If they had known how much Hon could eat they probably would have changed their mind. He had to sample the foods of each world represented at Epcot. Pavel and Camil decided to see if Verron could open an exhibition there. They intended to discuss it with Paul as soon as they returned. Cali was thinking about staffing the exhibition with Tecalna, Pavel was thinking about cyborgs and androids; either would be a real draw.

  They stayed at the Disney Polynesian Resort while there and attended the luau their first night. After a long day, leaving Epcot as it was closing; they piled into the SUV and headed out the Beeline for Coca Beach. Everyone but Hon fell asleep on the ride back. He really liked to drive the big Suburban. It was a bit small, but he loved the way it drove; it got added to his list along with the boat, of things he wanted to take back to Klelta.

  Paul Verron, Benny Barry, Kenneth Verron, Michael Verron and Princess Renee landed in front of the newly finished building that would be a combination Embassy and Business Office for the Nation of Verron. Landing between the Transportation Center and the Verron Tower - as the locals called the 12 story building sitting in southern Mississippi. Before entering the tower, Paul stood on the steps and looked around. The warehouses were the first thing finished. Behind the building, unseen from where he now stood, was the industrial complex that included more warehouses, tank farm, refinery and power facilities. They were still building on the tank farm and working on the second phase of the refinery. There was still plenty of free space in the warehouses, but Paul knew that would soon change. Renee had set-up the clinic Desiree had requested and a thousand people a day were coming to Mississippi to be given injections for hundreds of diseases. Many were singled-out on their return home to be tested for their results. So far the cure rate had been 100% and no side-effects could be determined. Those cured were making a public outcry for the FDA to make it more widely available; millions of people could not afford to travel across the country to Southern Mississippi.

  The travel center next to the Embassy was operational now, but so far the only ones that had been allowed to travel to Verron were the Disabled Veterans being regenerated in the Medical Center. Wounded Warrior was working diligently to arrange transportation for Disabled Veterans to get to Mississippi. Joe Verron was currently regenerating twelve at a time, or twenty-four per month. Those who had received the treatment were beyond grateful for the restoration of their physical and mental abilities. Many of those who had not yet received the treatment were grumbling and complaining that enough was not being done and of course tried to make it a race or economic issue, but published statistics showed that those selected were selected based on age and need. The oldest and worst went first. Paul felt as if a man who had been handicapped since WWII or Korea had even more right to have his life back than someone who had only recently been injured. He was in the process of placing staff and chambers in not only the hospital being built in Mississippi, but also at both Bethesda and Los Angeles. Soon he planned to open his gateways to tourism. He knew that there would be an influx of people willing to pay big dollars for the Fountain of Youth offered on Verron. He was still making it a priority for Verron citizens and new immigrants to be treated at no charge. Anyone wanting to purchase their youth would be a lower priority than those who would receive it for nothing. Paid customers would be admitted on a space-available basis only.

  The place seemed quiet. The Crotch Rocket Racing had been moved to NOLA, just north of New Orleans and to Barber Motor Speedway, outside of Birmingham. Kary told Paul he had donated one of the original machines to the Barber Motorcycle Museum located at the racetrack. For now racing was being licensed to the FIM World Motorsports and was ramping up for its first world tour next year, as an event added to the World MotoGP series. Both Paul and Kary were planning to attend the opening event in Catalunya Spain. Kary was more excited about the offer that had been given to Tala to race for the Tech3 Moto2 Team. She had agreed to race in the Catalunya opener to fill an empty position they had on their team, but told them she would decide after the race what she would do. The final race of the Australian season was in four more days and even though Tala already had the championship locked down, she was going to go in support of her teammate who was one point behind the man in second place. She wanted to make sure he reached his desired goal.

  Paul turned to enter the new building. Construction workers, electricians, painters, paperhangers and plumbers were scrambling all over the structure preparing for the grand opening in two weeks. They still had to bring in the office furniture and connect the computer system to Lucy. He entered the Human Resources office that was the first thing to be completed to find hundreds of applicants applying for jobs. More than two-thirds of the jobs in the tower would be filled with locals, the Embassy staff and management would be from Verron. There were already 10,000 people either already working in the warehouses, refinery and tank farm or preparing to begin work when the rest of the facility opened. The short-term plan was to employ over 50,000 people; the future plan was for more than 100,000.

  Paul and his group headed for the elevators. The top floor was executive staff only and the offices were already supposed to be finished. He had offices for Renee, himself, Michael, Gail Morton, Leona and half a dozen others. Half the building was designated for the Embassy the other half was set aside strictly for managing any business ventures between Earth and Verron. The group exited the elevators to the top floor. The opulence of the place was breath-taking. The entire design was done by Benny and combined the architectural designs of Earth, Verron, Xhondar, Klelta and Tecalna, Benny had blended the best elements of all their building designs and even used their native materials for a blend that would be found no place else in the Universe. They walked across the black Klelta marble floor to a set of twenty foot tall gold plated doors, intricately carved with the design of Verron’s landscape. With almost no effort, the doors opened to re
veal the executive suite. The floors were made of Ironwood from the forests of Verron. The light oak colored wood was streaked with a Tiger stripe pattern and laid in six-inch wide planks. Behind the receptionists/secretary desk was an eight-foot tall gold carved Zeus with wings spread twenty feet across the wall. They turned right and entered the Board Room. The fifty foot long and sixteen foot wide conference table was made with one solid piece of Gwonle Tree from Salenzo. This very lush but small planet was the newest ally of Verron. It had been settled 6000 years ago by residents of Xhondar II and had been a major supplier of wood and agricultural products. With a population of only two billion on a planet about one and half times the size of Earth, it was a welcomed ally to Verron. Being Xhondar II’s nearest neighbor and actually considered a colony of Xhondar II, Paul had not spend much time there. When they discovered he was building a new facility on Earth, they were quick to offer their expertise in wood-crafting and furniture making. Benny made a trip there and was now using their products exclusively to furnish the new executive offices. Over 50,000 of their citizens had already volunteered to join the Xhondar Military under the command of Supreme Commander Dalhia Xhondar. It was one of the few places Paul had seen that rivaled Verron in scenic beauty.