582 Invite to Party (1/2)
The refugees who were mostly farmers was once unskilled and uneducated, had under a forced program of teaching and learning, became literate and skilled in various industries, especially with working with heavy machinery and construction. Hence many heavy industries were zoned out around the city and the industries superseding the factories of Haven.
Almost everything needed by the people of the UN was produced here, or some of its parts. With the mega shipyard that was used to build and assemble the Vengeance, it also became the primary production of naval and merchant ships of the UN, over taking the yards of Far Harbor. These industries furthered increased the popularity boom for the city as more and more new immigrants that were granted citizenship sought to move into the city for its wealth and opportunities.
Captain Blake stood at the airport VIP terminal looking out of the glass walls at the blustering city as he waited for his plane that was taxiing towards the passenger boarding bridge. For a moment, the thought of Sherene's smile upon seeing the flourishing city flashed across his mind and his eyes misted, only quickly to snap out of his thoughts when his aide informed him that the plane was ready for boarding.
He rubbed his eyes and gave the city one last glance before he boarded his flight back to Haven where some matters needed to be addressed before he could set off to find Sherene.
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United Nations, Hope Naval Station, UNS Vengeance, Flight Deck A
”Attention!” A drill instructor in navy blues yelled across the flight deck at the squares of newly signed up recruits for the navy academy. Over seven hundred recruits mostly young adults except for one small girl stood at attention that was taught and drilled into them a couple of days ago.
The basic navy training was for the first time, strangely conducted onboard the UNS Vengeance and the recruits were given berths to stay inside the ship, instead of having the training course on the base itself. The new recruits were both excited and in awe of the great ship that they now stood upon while the Instructors were having a headache trying to coordinate the course's curriculum using the shipboard facilities.
In the end, the captain of the Vengeance and Plee herself had assured the instructors that she was willing to take the course and would not be offended in any way. The captain of the Vengeance, later on, had explained the circumstances of her situation which did not make the instructors any more happier.
The captain had also warned Plee not to use her powers at any cost and she needed to complete the entire course without her powers. Plee without knowing any other options, agreed to the conditions and did her best to blend in with the rest of the recruits. Now, she stood with her feet slightly apart in a crisp uniform and her hair neatly cropped and tucked into a jockey cap with her tiny fists clenched to her sides.
The morning parade continued on as the CO of the Navy Academy made a speech and after it was over, the instructors dismissed the recruits to their lessons for the day. Plee rubbed her growling belly as she still felt hungry despite having a large breakfast of buns, eggs and sausages. She sighed as she followed behind her new friends, her short legs jogging to catch up with them as they went down the hatch to their next class.
”I want some offerings...”
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United Nations, Haven, Fortress Singapore
”Attention On Deck!” The Marine guard called out at the door as Captain Blake entered the conference room.
”At ease,” Blake waved the gathered officers and civilians back to their seats. ”Alright, let's get this meeting started.”
”Now, as you all know, my next plan is to send the UNS Vengeance across the End Zone and into the Old World,” Blake said. ”We all have been planning for this day for a very long time!”
The people inside the room nodded and mumbled their approval. Blake looked around the room and continued. ”The Vengeance has docked for a week and is now undergoing refits and some upgrades to its systems. Estimated time for the ship in dock would be three weeks to finish all the repairs and refits.”
”So baring any hiccups or incidents,” Blake said. ”The Vengeance will depart for the Old World.”
”Sir, the Icarus still needs more time...” Chief Matt frowned as he replied. ”We can't complete ship trials within three weeks.”
”Than it will not join the Vengeance,” Blake simply replied. ”Anything else?”
”Yes, Sir,” Chief Matt added. ”We came up with a plan for a balloon assisted low orbit satellite communications array for long distance communications between the two continents.”
”We planned to use the helium which we had collected from our mines of natural gas and petroleum, to float high altitude balloons up to the stratosphere,” Chief Matt said. ”After which a small booster rocket will boost the communications satellite into orbit.”
”If successful, we can create a network of satellites for communications,” Chief Matt said. ”And maybe even having cameras for a real time surveillance system to replace our single probe in orbit.”
”But, it would need time and resources for tests and trials...” Chief Matt listed out the needs of the project. ”It would take months to implement the whole array in orbit.”
”Do it,” Blake nodded as he gave his approval. ”If we can have some comms between the New World and the Vengeance, it would greatly help in many ways.”
”Yes, Sir” Chief Matt nodded.
”Next?” Blake looked around.
”Sir, we need more troops in the Isles within the week if the Marines want to make the three week deadline of the Vengeance...” General Frank the Commander of Marines said. ”We need Army units to take over my Marines at the Isles before they can be pulled back to man the Vengeance...”
”The unrest in the Isles is growing and we can't pull the Marines out without any replacements,” General Frank said as he glanced over to General Joseph. ”Three weeks is a very tight schedule to hand over all the duties...”
General Joseph nodded as he said, ”My men are boarding the transports as we speak now and some units are already en route over.”
”I do not know if it would be enough,” General Frank said. ”We can hold the capital of the Isles, but overall, the Isles has many, many scattered islands. Islands under the influence of Fleet Master Kose, Dijon and Marshal are generally more orderly compared to the islands of Tediore, Megan and Akron...”