Serve and Protect

by Douglas Varnell

  Amber was now twenty-six. She also received her enhancement and swore Paul was showing favorites by allowing Hunter to get his first. Now holding the rank of Major General and Commander of the Verron Air Force, she was the most impressive woman Paul had ever seen. She was born to command and lead. Even at her young age, it was obvious that even those much older and serving under her command held her in the highest of regard. No one even called her Princess Amber anymore – she was Major General Amber Verron-Lawson. Paul had promoted her Father Justice to Lieutenant General. Neither of them could understand the brain-child that decided a Lieutenant General outranked a Major General. Paul was tempted to change the age old tradition on Verron but knew it would only confuse those hundreds of thousands of men and women who had served in the military on Earth, so he left it alone.

  After the Air Force Academy experience, she returned to Verron to assume her command position. At first she was struggling with her absence from Bobby. He had two more years before he could legally resign his commission. Amber hated to have a man who had dedicated his entire life to the Air Force give it up for her, but he assured her that he was ready for a change and if worse came to worse he could always start a business with his father on Verron. When the big day of his resignation finally arrived, the top brass of the Air Force and the new Joint Chief of Staff, General Dorsey had retired, actually were hinting around about his being a spy for the Air Force on Verron and actually believed he would supply them with information. When he arrived, King Verron greeted him along with Amber, her Father and General Zarman. The five Generals had lunch on top of one of the new high-rise motels built overlooking the Crystal River, by the time they finished their meal, Major Brigadier General Robert Lawson, U.S. Air Force retired was now Major General Robert Lawson, Dean of the Verron Military Academy. The new academy would be tasked with training officers of allied Nations. It was only in the beginning stages with 500 full-time students and three large buildings north of Capital City. The holographic image of the proposed facility that Benny Barry had designed would house 40,000 students and be the largest University on Verron. Robert was in awe after looking at what he was going to be building and managing. He was about to begin a whole new career. Before they finished dinner, Amber let him know that he would be receiving a full military enhancement. Paul leaned over and whispered in her ear. She smiled and squeezed Robert’s hand, he was about to become the oldest and newest member of the Dragon Guard. Paul felt he would need every advantage to build the future leaders of a billion man force.

  Paul had established Mr. Lawson, Robert’s father, as his banker on Earth. It had worked out to be a good decision. Mr. and Mrs. Brown just finished construction of a 20,000 square foot mansion on Verron, just south of Capital City with a view overlooking the ocean on one side and the golf-course on the other. Both Robert’s parents had received rejuvenation and they now gave Amber and Robert a much harder tennis match and easily regained their Championship status back on Long Island. With Mr. and Mrs. Lawson commuting back and forth to Verron on a regular basis, Paul gave them one of the BMW designed personal transports to make it easier for them to go directly from Long Island to Success, MS to use the gateway to Verron. Mr. Lawson was the talk of NYC when he began to commute to and from his bank in Manhattan in his BMW instead of his helicopter. He only enjoyed his unique position for a while. BMW was now manufacturing on Verron and exporting the new vehicles to Earth. At $10,000,000 per vehicle, they already had orders for 1000 of them, but it was obvious they would not be seen carrying kids to soccer practice any time soon.

  Mr. Lawson, along with Leona and Donald Williamsson had also negotiated the deal for Peterbilt to sell the trucks they made on Verron to a select group of Earth trucking companies. They were still negotiating the rules under which they could be used and any restrictions that may be required to keep them safe on Earth. Leave it to politicians to mess-up a perfectly good flying truck. John Deere had already sold 1500 of the Verron built combines. The great northwest wheat-belt no longer smelled like diesel fuel.

  The most publicized event of the year had been the wedding of Robert McGee Lawson to Princess Amber Verron-Hall. Once Robert got settled into his new job on Verron, the two of them began to plan a small church wedding for the immediate family, then Renee and her sisters got involved. The church with a seating capacity of almost 5000 people was not going to be big enough to hold those who desired to attend the nuptials of the son of Earth’s, now fourth richest man, and the granddaughter of King Verron. It took almost a year to put the whole thing together. It was finally decided to hold it in the city square of Capital City. A temperature controlled and rain resistance forcefield was erected to cover the entire square. It looked like Calloway Gardens in the spring-time it had so many flowers decorating it. When Paul looked at the place just before the ceremony, he swore it would take half a day for the bride to walk down the nearly quarter-mile long aisle. There were guests from all over Earth and thousands of guests from the allied planets. It was the first time the King of the Cyclops and Elder of the Sand-People had been on Verron. With them added to the usual array of color, it was hard to imagine the bride being able to outshine the crowd, until Paul looked back when the music began. In a hand-stitched white-lace dress that took four Russian seamstresses seven months to make and a train that flowed behind her for a hundred feet, set against her auburn hair, tan skin and pearl-white smile, no one even noticed the 11 foot tall man with a single eye, it was certain that Robert saw no one but his future wife.

  With Hunter as the best man and Katelyn as the bridesmaid and of course the entire Dragon Guard included in the procession, the ceremony was a photojournalist’s bonanza. Lieutenant General Hall escorted his daughter down the aisle in his newly designed dress uniform. Justice was an impressive looking man and Paul swelled with pride that he was one of his best friends. Those who were not guests of the wedding surrounded the forcefield looking on from the sidewalks or from the balconies in buildings above. It turned out to be a beautiful day and everyone had a perfect view of the biggest event in Verron history. When the bride and groom kissed, you could hear the shouts of nearly two million people fill the air of Capital City.

  There was no place large enough to hold a reception for the couple, so while they headed to the Klelta Palace to change, a crew of well-organized men and women transformed the city square into a giant dance floor and reception area. The stage where the couple had said their vows was now filled with an eight man band ready to play till no one was able to dance anymore; never in history had there been such a wedding reception. Paul didn’t even want to think about the cost of the hundreds of tables of food. While Paul was talking with the Queen Mother and Renee, they were approached by Prince Harry of Great Britain and his wife. They had experienced two royal weddings, their own and his older brothers. Both admitted that Verron really knew how to hold a royal wedding.

  When the happy couple returned to the square, every man there wanted to dance with the normally reserved twenty six year-old general. After the initial dance with Robert, then her father, she grabbed Paul next. Her grandpa was a horrible dancer and was self-conscious dancing in front of a few million people, with cameras no less. Fortunately he didn’t trip over his feet and Amber had a dress short enough he didn’t step on the hem. After he exited the dance area, Eu Meh was first to dominate his time. He was relieved it was her, he let her lead. To Hunter’s relief, Ursula arrived with her new French millionaire boyfriend and Pricilla caught the bouquet; Hunter knew that it had been carefully orchestrated by Amber and her cousins. Amber and Robert really surprised everyone when it was time to leave. With a tastefully decorated transport prepared for their departure, the two dashed inside the Capital Building Administrative Offices for a moment and emerged wearing jeans and T-shirts. Amber even had on her Air Force Academy baseball cap, it matched the one Robert had on. As they left the building, Navy Commander Cruz pulled into the square on a custom made red crotch rocket. The smiling couple j
umped on and blasted out across Briana Bay. No one knew where they were headed, but with as much uninhabited space as there was on Verron, it was easy to disappear. Paul and Justice noticed a big smile on the best man’s face and he revealed that he had transported a completely self-contained housing module to a secret location, known only to him and Robert. Of course the crew of Marines that helped set it up knew, but since Hunter officially declared its location TOP SECRET, they would never reveal it. The Marines who set it up were impressed with the luxurious amenities Hunter had provided. This was not anything like the units commonly used to house troops in remote areas, King Sized bed with silk sheets, a fully stocked kitchen, a Jacuzzi, huge bathroom and four servant drones. At 3000 square feet, the custom made module would one day be marketed to honeymooners and those who wanted their privacy all over the allied planets. This one had been placed beside a mountain lake 8,000 miles from nowhere.

  One of the biggest transformations had been with Hunter. Even when he was 18 and just arriving on Verron, he had been more of a serious type. He knew how to have fun and had his share, but as he grew older and began to accept more and more responsibility, he was driven to perfection and accomplishment to an obsessive level. Paul couldn’t think of anything the boy had done wrong over the past ten years. He was so focused on whatever he was involved in at any given time that he rarely noticed what was going on around him. Ursula was wise enough to understand that and held no hard feelings about his never seeing her feelings toward him. But Pricilla was so in tune to his every thought and action that it was down-right scary. She often knew what he was thinking when he didn’t even know himself. After leading the war effort on Darsai, fighting terrorists for almost ten years and fighting Volvs who had butchered his good friends, he had become a hard man and a serious man, who rarely had any fun, even his recreation and personal workout time was used to make him a better man, instead of for the sheer pleasure of it. Paul could tell that he had inherited his own obsessive personality and his father’s unrelenting determination to right all wrongs and deal-out just rewards. The thousands of soldiers who followed him adored him as a leader and respected his way of doing things. Like his Father and Grandfather, he led his men into action, he never just sent them. Paul admired how he made his own decisions and then told Paul what he had done, instead of asking permission for everything he did.

  After the incident with the Putin loading an escorted ship with weapons bound for Iran for distribution to God only knew where, he decided on his own to go pay Mr. Putin another visit. Putin was in bed sound asleep when Hunter tapped him on the shoulder. The alarmed President was reaching for the panic button by his bed when he couldn’t speak or move. Hunter then proceeded to tell him, “In case you haven’t been told before, it is the policy of Verron when we go to war with someone to kill their leaders first, starting at the top. Now, for some reason I feel like there may be some worthwhile potential in you and I really don’t want to make you a martyr, but let me tell you what I am going to do. Over the next few years many of your leaders will disappear. Anyone I determine to be involved in organized crime or supplying weapons or support to terrorists or organized crime, I will eliminate, so unless you want to be one of those people on my list, I would suggest you reconsider your way of doing things. If I can eliminate the Emir of Qatar and his son, along with his palace and his yacht, I can just as easily level Putin Palace with you and your family in it. Do I make myself clear?”

  Hunter released his grip on Vladimir and he shook his head, yes. Hunter smiled and added, “I hate to use an overused line from the Terminator, but if things in your government do not change, I’ll be back.” With that he turned and vanished. Since then, Renee had established trade relations with Russia and before long they may actually become one of the Earth allies. Putin was being hailed as a hero for cleaning up the crime and corruption in his country and used as an example by the U.N. of what a country can accomplish with the commitment of the leader and the people. Hunter wanted to throw-up the first time he saw the news coverage on President Putin anti-corruption program.

  With Priscilla on the planet, Hunter was actually taking some time off and going fishing, scuba diving and backpacking with his fiancée. Priscilla was especially active in the orphanage program in the Arab Christian Community. Thousands of children had been left homeless over the years in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt; the Christians had been taking them in when possible. Cali and her new husband were both orphans and worked closely with Priscilla and even Hunter to make the program a success. No one had ever expected to see Prince Hunter Verron-Hall playing with children on a swing-set or showing them how to operate a flight simulator he had donated to the orphanage. A picture of him tying a bow in a little girl’s hair while a little boy stood by waiting to play ball with a Prince had been viewed by billions of people. It was a side of him that no one knew existed, except for Priscilla.

  Some of the media was making an issue about the mansions being built by the Royal family as they began to grow-up and get married, but compared to the lush palaces and estates many royals back on Earth enjoyed, they were pretty conservative, ranging in size from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet, the Dragon Guard had not gotten carried away with spending their money when you considered what they had done for the Nation of Verron. Paul thought how these 10 to 18 year-old children had grown into the most dynamic leaders imaginable. There was not a one of them he couldn’t place on the throne of Verron and know the future of the country was in good hands. After just recovering from Amber’s big event, he was now faced with the soon to take place wedding of the heir to the throne of Verron, his grandson. He wondered how it could be any more lavish an event than his sister’s wedding.

  Paul arrived back at the house after three hours and felt relaxed and full of vitality. He headed for the kitchen to get something to drink and was greeted by the laughter and horseplay of Hunter and Priscilla. She was trying to teach him how to cook Babka with streusel for the upcoming Easter weekend. It was a traditional Jewish cake baked for the occasion. The kitchen smelled great filled with the aroma of cinnamon and chocolate; they both were covered in flour. The first one they had tried fell flat, so Paul was allowed to sample the tasty, but ugly, cake. It was delicious and he soon had a second piece. Priscilla had taken to calling him Papa Paul, it soon caught on and it seemed like that was going to be his official name to the children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews around the Mansion. To him it sounded better than King Verron or Grandpa. He sat back to enjoy his second piece of Babka and a Diet Coke and watched his grandson and future wife. They made a handsome couple and Priscilla was not just beautiful but striking. Her eyes were captivating and her presence in a room commanded not just attention, as most beautiful women did, but also respect. The way she carried herself exuded self-confidence in her own abilities and her relationship with Hunter. Paul could think of no one on the planet who didn’t love and respect her, except for a few million girls who wished they were her; Hunter had turned out to be one handsome looking man. He thought, “He definitely got his mother and fathers gene pool instead of mine.”

  Soon the MJs arrived in the kitchen. Now eight years-old, the boys still looked remarkably alike, except that MJ2 was a little stockier built than his cousin. Both boys had a major crush on Priscilla and were in heaven when she pinched off a piece of cake and allowed them to sample it from her fingers. She then cut them a piece of the good cake to sample. Hunter knew the boys were smitten and played jealous. Before Paul left the kitchen to get changed, Tala and Brad, Katelyn and Bart, Chase and Daniel with the twins and Fe, Fi, Fo and Fooey all strolled into the kitchen, drawn by the smell of Priscilla’s Babka. She served them the remainder of the cake and the four little gargoyles didn’t seem offended when she offered them the entire remainder of the fallen cake. She turned to Hunter and said, “Well, so much for Easter and a special treat.” They looked around at their unique extended family and both realized they were a treat in themselves.

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sp; When Paul had showered and changed into his tan Dockers and light-blue button-down Oxford shirt, and his Nike boots, he headed to the office to see what he could do to help and irritate Earth at the same time. He was greeted by Inga, who informed him that he was late for the meeting he had scheduled with his financial committee. He realized that he had left the assembly so angry he completely forgot, probably by intent. He stepped into his office 15 minutes late to be received by people he knew were his friends and not just his employees. Michel “Count the Money” Verron, Gail Morton (his ex-wife), Leona Williamsson (another ex-wife) and her husband Donald, Mr. Robert Lawson, Zimuel Xhondar, his very best friend and most trusted advisor and General James Zarman. Paul, half joking and half serious, asked, “OK, let’s get to the bottom line first. Am I broke yet and if not, how long do I have before I am?” Michael, who was a wiz with the numbers and who Paul trusted completely to handle his finances, smiled and replied, “I am pleased to tell you that you are definitely not broke and me and my friends here are dedicated to see if we can’t get you a little closer to that objective with our new spending proposals. Even after I did the math on financing the new budgetary plans for this next year, you will still have 58 trillion cronz in reserve.” Paul smile and replied, “That’s good right?”

  Everyone in the room knew Paul Verron had one of the shrewdest financial minds in the world and liked how he played dumb, all the way to the bank. Leona laughed and told him, “Let’s just say you won’t have to float your checks like you did back when we were married, not a single one will bounce.” He looked around at his advisors and asked, “Are each of you satisfied with the budget requirements asked for by the various departments. Will they give us what we need, if we give them what they ask for?” Mr. Lawson had never seen anyone so decisive in the way he did things. He asked, “Don’t you want to review the proposed budgets, sir?” Paul smiled and asked, “Mr. Lawson, how much did you and your financial institutions make off of doing business with me the past three years? Billions, right?” He answered, “$62 billion to be exact.” Then I assume that you will make good decisions that will make you and therefore me, even richer. If you don’t succeed in doing that, then I’ll no longer need your services. I trust all of you to do what’s best for me and for yourself. Now if there are any specific areas where you think there may be a problem or a conflict, let’s talk about it, otherwise I expect you to make those decisions for me and if next year I drop all the way down to say 56 trillion in reserves, I’ll start to worry about you doing your jobs right.