Serve and Protect

by Douglas Varnell

  Pointing toward the far side of the valley, he indicated, “We will come back to Saint Litta after we dine. Where we are going has one of the most beautiful views on the planet. Bergspitz Veltlinerkeller is managed by one of Switzerland’s most renowned chefs. He was 92 years-old when he came to Verron and had been teaching chefs from all over Europe in his culinary arts school. He now looks 40 and is as spry as a 25 year-old and manages to produce the most wonderful meals you’ve ever eaten. The Bergspitz is open year-round since we ski year-round here. He is also training a group of new chefs who assist him at the restaurant.”

  They flew low across the valley and Paul could clearly see, for the first time since it opened, that it was packed. There had to be a third or more of Verron’s tourists enjoying the ski slopes of Saint Litta. Up till today it had been a local hangout for the skiers on Verron. There was some excellent skiing in the mountains around the space ship factory, but it was not year-round. Bergspitz Veltlinerkeller sat on the top of a 7,000 foot summit. It was built like some of the up-scale restaurants on top of high-rises in the city, it rotated 360 degrees while you dined, giving the guests a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. You could watch skiers traverse the slopes and bobsledders racing down the newly designed course as you ate a world class meal prepared by one of Europe’s top chefs. All eyes were on the sleek white spaceship with a dragon on the side when Paul and his guests landed on the pad in front of the restaurant. Others visiting the resort village had been shuttled up the mountain. It was hard to miss the ship when it was the only one there. As they entered, Paul was introduced to snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler. She had met Amber and Robert in Aspen and was invited to Verron to check-out the skiing. Gretchen was there on a complimentary visa as Amber’s guest, the two dozen people with her were not. Paul let her know how much he appreciated her patronage and welcomed her and her friends to Verron. As he and his party were escorted to their reserved table he told the Matre`d to put their meal on his tab. It was the least he could do for his Granddaughter’s friends.

  While the group dined and conversed, Paul grew to appreciate just how bright and personable Eu Meh was. She was by far the prettiest woman in the place and drew a lot of attention from those who had never seen King Verron with a date. Paul began to think about how long it had been since he had been anywhere accompanied by a member of the opposite sex. When he realized it had been over 15 years, he began to envy the couples at the table with him and suddenly felt very lonely. He really did find Eu Meh attractive, but just couldn’t see himself in a relationship with anyone at this point in his life. He felt as if he was giving all he had to give to the development of Verron and that there was simply no room for anything else in his busy life. He could tell Eu Meh most likely felt differently than he did. He knew that by tomorrow it would be all over Verron, and probably Earth, that King Verron had a girlfriend, after-all, he was sitting at a table with an entire team of reporters and TV journalists and had already noticed the dozens of pictures being taken of the King and his guests. Everyone recognized Robin Meade; he probably wouldn’t have been noticed except for her. By the time dessert was served it felt like Paul was at a table with old friends, and it wasn’t the long term residents and family that made him feel that way. Robin Meade and her husband were two of the most down-to-Earth and personable people he had ever met. He felt like he had made the right choice in choosing her for the King Verron exclusive. He was finishing the last bite of Gateau du Vully when Gretchen Bleiler approached the table and asked, “I know I’m probably stepping over my bounds, but Amber told me you weren’t like other Kings. Would you mind if I had my friend take a picture of you and me.” Paul smiled and asked, “Would you like to have a real star join us? I’m sure Robin wouldn’t mind.” Gretchen snuggled up next to one side of King Paul and Robin Meade snuggled up on the other. There were a lot more pictures snapped of the moment than Gretchen’s friends. Paul found a copy of him and two beautiful women in not only the Verron news, but all over the internet, it was right alongside the pictures of him and Eu Meh.

  The group took the shuttle down to the village. The Dragon Wagon was a bit large for the small village streets and town square, especially with the thousands of people bustling about the streets. Paul had never been there before. Here he was the King and sole owner of the place and never laid eyes on more than a few over-flights and some architectural renderings shown to him by Benny. It was a fantastic place. It reminded him of what Disney’s Magic Kingdom would look like if it were a ski resort. The shops, cafes, night clubs and gift shops were packed. He was pleased to see that the local merchants were going to be very prosperous. At first he was able to walk the streets unobserved, but Robin Meade’s presence drew the initial attention and then people began to realize who the world renowned news anchor was with. Paul managed to be pleasant, but was tiring quickly of the celebrity status he was receiving from the Earth visitors. Prior to this opening day of tourism, Paul could walk the streets anywhere on Verron and though always recognized he was never bothered. He did not like the attention and did not like the fact that from now own he would not be able to walk the streets of his own planet. He was simply too well known. He thought, “These people will go home and tell their friends how they met a King walking the streets just like everyone else.” Though he was thrilled with the enthusiasm of the visitors and felt truly blessed that his citizens would prosper from the increased trade, he almost wished things could go back to the simplicity of life before the gateways were opened. He then realized, “Nothing ever goes back to what it was; it either improves or gets worse.” Over-all, he knew that Verron was progressing exactly as he had planned and it would continue to do so as long as he kept his plans and God’s plans in line with each other.

  When the Dragon Wagon lifted off Bergspitz Veltlinerkeller everyone in the group was ready to call it a day. It had been a long day even for someone as hyper as Paul. By the time the evening had wound down, Eu Meh was holding Paul’s arm as they strolled through the village as if they were the only people in town. He couldn’t help but enjoy the attention of what he felt like was the prettiest woman he had ever met. But, in the back of his head, he kept thinking, “As great as this is, something about it just doesn’t feel right. He felt like Hunter must feel with Ursula, she was a really good friend and no doubt they had a lot in common, but the chemistry just wasn’t there.” He thought a moment about Hunter and his maturity at such a young age. He couldn’t think of anyone his age with as much combat experience and so much grief to bear. The bad part was the entire Dragon Guard had experienced the extreme violence that could be found almost any place in the Universe and were handling it very well. He silently prayed for peace, but knew it was not going to happen anytime soon. He snapped out of his thoughts about the time he was approaching the hanger under Mountain City. Even at this late hour it was still buzzing with activity. He remembered how he used to be the only one flying in and out of this mammoth structure, now if it weren’t for his reserved parking space, he would have no place to park his ship. He shook his head thinking, “This place never sleeps – there is always something going on. He couldn’t help but notice as he came in for his final approach that the terraces and balconies of the Klelta Palace were as crowded as they were when he had left. After brief goodnights and the customary “we need to do this again” comments, everyone went their separate way. Paul realized he was now standing alone in the foyer with Eu Meh. She slipped her arm through his and asked, “Walk me to my room?” She was staying in the Mansion, so Paul couldn’t exactly send her away. They made some small talk as they traversed the stairs leading to her suite and she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, saying, “Paul Verron, whenever you think you may be ready for a relationship, keep me in mind. Right now you seem light-years away. Thanks for a wonderful time.” With that she entered her room. Paul thought, “She really is a remarkable woman to see right through me and know my mind is on everything in the world but her.” That night
he let God know how lonely he was and asked for the strength to endure or for Him to send the right woman his way. Tonight he didn’t even watch Robin Meade on the CNN News; he had spent the entire day with her.

  Paul’s body clock was on Verron time. He got up hours before normal breakfast time and headed out the back door for a morning run. When he stepped through his terrace door to head out, he looked below to see Metsis and Lydia preparing to do the same. A loud whistle got their attention and the three took off together. Paul was growing more and more impressed with these two. Metsis, pound for pound, was one of the strongest people he had ever met and was extremely agile in the mountains. Lydia was simply the most determined child he had ever seen. She refused to accept any limitations of her abilities to do everything the other Dragon Guard could do. Her stubbornness and determination at times was maddening and other times admirable. Today was one of the admirable days. She was determined to keep up with Paul. At under five feet and only having The Power for a bit under two years, she was remarkably gifted, but there was no way she could keep up with Paul. He decided to see just what she could do, and soon he and Lydia were racing ahead of Metsis as they leaped and climbed through the rugged terrain. She finally met her limit when Paul leaped across a ravine 400 yards wide to an outcropping that was three hundred feet above his launch point. Lydia missed the small ledge Paul had just landed on and began to fall into the five thousand foot ravine. She panicked and wasn’t sure what to do. About halfway down the deep ravine she came to a sudden stop and looked up to see a smiling King Paul leaning over the ledge above. As he held her there, he shouted, “Teleport or simply lift yourself like you would any boulder on the mountain. An irritated Lydia began to drift upwards under her own use of The Power until she was hovering over the ravine just in front of Paul. He reached out and pulled her to the ledge. She began to cry at her failure and Paul gave her a hug and reminded her that he had been doing this for almost as long as she is old, then reminded her that she was doing very well and to never doubt her ability, it was the doubt that made her panic when she had the ability to lift herself all along.

  A sweaty and soaked Paul Verron entered the kitchen followed by Metsis and Lydia, joking and laughing about Lydia’s failed leap across the gorge, the three were hoping to find something to drink and some fruit to eat. Robin Meade and the lady camera woman were sitting with the Queen Mother having coffee when the shirtless King Verron, dripping of sweat and covered with dirt, came into the room. Both guests marveled at the lean and perfectly proportioned body that looked like an anatomy chart, without an ounce of fat on it. Robin then remembered that this man in front of her was almost 80 years old. Metsis was beside him and at five feet six inches, looked like an overly built body builder on steroids. His short frame and massive arms, chest and legs were covered in a thin lycra-spandex like material that clung to his every muscle; he wore a hood over his head and dark sunglasses. His very white skin glowed with sweat. Lydia wore a tank-top and shorts and looked like a gymnast or a competition aerobics competitor. Robin had never seen such remarkable physical specimens. Paul walked across the room and grabbed one of the two remaining bananas from the kitchen counter and opened a fridge to get a quart of Gatorade. As he walked across the kitchen, Metsis headed for the last banana. Before he reached his objective, the banana flew across the kitchen and directly into Lydia’s hand. Suddenly the refrigerator door opened and a Gatorade followed the banana across the kitchen to Lydia. Metsis growled at his nemesis and walked across the room to the pantry to get another bunch of bananas. Robin’s mouth popped open in amazement. She asked, “Did I just see what I think I saw?”

  Paul gave Lydia a glaring look and answered, “Yesterday you commented about wanting to know more about the changes in Lydia since her arriving on Verron. Well, Lydia is now a member of the Dragon Guard. Myself and the Dragon Guard have a few talents that are unique and only shared by us. We do not normally use these abilities to snatch bananas from a starving friend or because we’re too lazy to walk across the kitchen to get a drink.” Lydia rolled her eyes. Paul thought, “She must have been hanging out with one of my daughters.” He continued by saying, “Robin, I am going to allow you complete access to me, my family and Verron. You will no doubt learn things that others are completely unaware of. I hope that you will use a lot of discretion in exactly what you report to the world. Some of what we do is not for public knowledge, although most of our Marines have been around the Dragon Guard when we have been called to use our unique abilities. Ms. Lydia is still experimenting and learning to use what we call The Power. If you will promise to consult me before you go public with just how it works, I’ll promise you that I will personally give you a demonstration of the full potential of this unique gift. All members of the Dragon Guard swear an oath to never use The Power for any reason other than protecting themselves or to protect others, not for stealing bananas.” Lydia smiled and protested, “I didn’t steal it; I just beat Metsis to it. The Gatorade I will admit was showing off. Sorry.” Paul laughed as he replied, “No problem.” Those at the table looked up to see a box of Crunchy Raisin Bran, a gallon of milk, a bowl, a spoon and a Diet Coke floating across the room to the table.” The Queen Mother gave Paul a dirty look as he shrugged and said, “Hey, cats out of the bag, may as well have some fun.” His mother quickly replied, “If you think you’re going to sit at the breakfast table and eat with no shirt on you got another think coming.” Paul smiled at his mother and stood-up, as if to leave, then vanished, returning to the same spot a few seconds later with a ragged T-shirt that had a picture of a milk carton with thousands of people pictured in caricature on the side. It read: “Post-Rapture Milk Carton – Have you seen these people?” Both guests at the table stared in awe. The Queen Mother popped Paul on the back of his head and said, “Stop trying to impress the girls.” Turning to Robin and her assistant, she added, “He’s only acting like that because he has had a crush on Robin for over ten years now.” Paul shrugged as he looked at the world renowned news anchor, saying, “Like I said; some things you will learn are very private and should not be aired on the world news.”

  Metsis and Lydia joined the others at the breakfast table and helped themselves to Paul’s Crunchy Raisin Bran. They did however get bowls and spoons the old fashion way, from the cabinet, under their own power. Lydia and Metsis both grabbed a Diet Coke from the fridge. Paul’s mother took her last sip of coffee before rising from the table, saying; “I see you’ve taught them other disgusting habits.” Lydia burped from the carbonation rush and laughed, “Paul thought it was great to see this normally serious girl have a little fun. He burped too.” Robin Meade shook her head and stared thinking, “This has got to be the most unusual world leader I’ve ever met.” Shortly, the rest of the CNN group joined the others and several of King Paul’s staff arrived, including Tlase, who immediately corrected her daughter for burping at the table and not sitting like a lady. She also received an eye roll. Before Paul left the room, he informed Metsis and Lydia, “You two get cleaned-up. You’ll be escorting Ms. Meade around and please feel free to speak honestly if asked a question. Renee is taking the Dragon Wagon, just use my destroyer for transportation.” Turning to Robin, he said, “I’ll have Inga give you a list of interesting places to visit that are not on the tourists list. You can also feel free to check-out the tourist sites as well. Don’t worry about using the travel center. It will be a zoo. Metsis and Lydia can take you to any planet the travel center can and a few extra places. I will see you this evening for any follow-up questions you may have and for dinner, unless you decide to check-out some of our other fine restaurants.” With that, Paul left the table followed by Metsis and Lydia headed off to get more presentable.

  Inga was pouring herself a cup of coffee when Robin asked, “Is King Verron this informal to everyone?” Inga thought a moment and replied, “Unless they give him a reason not to be. He is not a man you want to make mad. His personality is quite different when he is angry or upset. We
have learned to do what he says when he says do it. He will always give anyone a free hand to do things their own way, unless it goes against his own plans. He never stops thinking and sorting through thousands of scenarios for every possible outcome. It drives me a little crazy at times. He also never stops working. I’ll bet that even last night as he socialized with all of you, he was thinking about some new weapon, or a military action or even a new business venture. He allows his executive staff the right to do their jobs without interference, but be sure of one thing, he is the man who controls everything to do with Verron and he is very good at it.” Robin looked around the table at the faces of Paul’s other staff members as they nodded their agreement. As Inga left, she informed Robin, “By the way, Paul’s staff will make themselves available to you. Just get with me and I’ll make arrangements.”

  An hour later Tim Yeager, Robin Meade and their crew, boarded King Verron’s personal Light Destroyer. It was just like the others except his was jet black and had a red dragon painted on both sides, it also had the newest gadgets and weapons conceived of by his weapons designers and engineers. Metsis and Lydia had flown other Destroyers, but today was their first time flying King Paul’s. They had a real sense of pride and as others in the hanger acknowledged their right to take command of a ship that could wipe-out an entire country. Robin paused as her escorts approached the most imposing aircraft she had ever seen. She and her crew stared as they questioned their mode of transportation and the fact that a young man of no more than 20 and a girl of 13 were going to be allowed to fly it. Sensing Ms. Meade’s hesitancy, Lydia turned to her and said, “Things here can be a little intimidating. Your first stop for today is at the Marcus Verron Space Center, where we manufacture these and many that are much more treacherous looking, but don’t worry, Metsis and I have been trained to fly them and almost never crash. We will also visit the Verron Air Force and Marine Corp base that is next to the spaceship manufacturing plant. I’m sure you will be given an opportunity to look at and fly in any ship you see.” Lydia and Metsis climbed aboard and indicated for Robin, Tim and the crew to follow. Entering through the same side door that the Marines and crew used, the news team immediately noticed that this was not some show piece designated to impress the media. This was a fully functioning and fully equipped ship of war. The Marine seating area was lined with weapons and body armor, ready to be put on in seconds. As they moved forward in the cabin to follow their pilots, there were high tech FTL missiles in cartridges on both sides of the narrow hall to the forward cabin. Photon torpedoes were visible through the open grate of a floor. It looked like there were at least a hundred of them prepared to be used on an enemy target. Safely seated in the formfitting seats immediately behind the pilot and copilot, Robin asked, “I know you know how to fly a ship. From what I’ve heard through the rumor mill, you even begin teaching children to fly in the elementary schools, but do you know how to operate these weapons systems, I wouldn’t want you to accidentally blow something up.”