Game What are you doing right now?

The epic last chapter.. :)

Chapter 24
Sky without a Star



For the second time in a day, I am aboard a helicopter for only the third time in my life I have found myself in such a situation. My previous trip was a frantic dash from the combined forces training grounds located two-hundred and fifty kilometres north the city on an isolated part of the coast-line, quite far from the nearest towns in any direction. It was an ideal location to host international training exercises where in one section they could stage simulated sea-borne landings from naval ships off the coast. They were also able to fire off copious quantities of large calibre rounds and do nothing more than terrify the wildlife and churn up ground that had already been turned into a lunar landscape. Other areas were forested, ideal for simulated jungle warfare situations and mixed in with the almost ankle deep in places leaf litter, countless quantities of expended small calibre arms cases could be found almost everywhere. Elsewhere, a complete urban neighbourhood had been built where the participants could hone the skills required to operate in a built-up area, something becoming all too common in the last hundred years. The whole area was considered to be state-of-the-art as far as training facilities found anywhere in the world went and was second to none

To be included, I have recently discovered were to be places constructed to replicate large industrial complexes as these were now fast-becoming target of opportunity and including such facilities would only improve the skills of already well-trained operatives. The only thing this facility lacked was the reason we are aboard this helicopter, a large ocean going cargo ship and that our objective. The Patreon Star was still tied to the city docks but according to the police detectives on stake-out watching it, the vessel was giving every appearance of preparing to make a hasty departure for the safety of international waters. Time was going to be of the essence and considering that we could not risk this flight of six choppers overflying the ship and alerting everyone on board. The coming of the forces who intended to prevent said departure were going to have to land some distance away and it had taken a lot of phone calls and organisation to divert several city buses to our intended landing zone. This mission had gone all the way to the Prime Minister’s office and by his order, all, repeat all civil, police and military resources capable of intervening on short notice had been ordered to provide whatever assets and personnel that were humanly possible to supply at short notice.

Should a worse-case scenario eventuate and the ship was able to leave its moorings, the Navy was embarking highly trained marine commandos on one of its frigates in case it became necessary to board the ship at sea. As a last resort, the Airforce has put a flight of strike aircraft on stand-by, loaded to the gills with stand-off maritime attack missiles and if boarding it stopped being an option, they would sink it. The alternative to that was letting technology and the people who invented it be expedited to some place beyond our reach and what those people knew had the potential to change the world and not for the better. Briefly, everyone aboard the helicopters believed they had done their jobs for the day when they had secured the Gateway complex from the armed terrorists who had overrun it and freed the almost hundred hostages that had been held there under duress. With clothing still rank with the smell of the nitrocellulose propellants small arms fire generates and fear and weapons still warm from recent use, when the call went out to again stand in harm’s way, to a man and woman, every single Police Rapid Response team member and every Green Beret answered their nation’s call without hesitation.

There had already been someone aboard our helicopter when we climbed in and he was the one who spoke now. “Pilot, can we have a communications check,” he tapped the chopper pilot on the shoulder and asked.

“Asguard one-one to flight, comms check.”

“Asguard one-two, Asguard one-three, Asguard one-four, Asguard one-five, Asguard one-six,” the other five helicopters replied one after another.

“This is Detective Arthur Caudwell on Asguard one-one with a situation update.” He began, looking down at a LanD screen he was holding in his lap. “The ship’s name is the Patreon Star. Its registration is through a long list of off-shore companies but we have traced it to a Chinese company called Empire Trading. It’s one of a vast corporate empire owned by a Chinese industrialist, one Heng Li Chow, elderly, age estimated to be almost ninety. He’s reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in China with a net worth in the hundreds of billions of dollars. He owns heavy engineering companies,, electronics, home appliances, a chain of luxury hotels, casinos and resorts world-wide, vehicle manufacture and so forth. He has two sons, one is the CEO of the hotel chain, one Jianguo Chow while the other, a Mister Liwai Chow is a low level diplomat working for the Chinese Government. Jianguo has two children, a boy, Keung Chow and a daughter, Bao Chow. The son is the manager of Chow’s Auto-manufacturing division while the daughter is a systems designer for one of his electronics companies. Kiwai has three children or rather had, one Liu Diem Chow was killed in a sniping incident in the city, an attempt of the life of one Vincent Thorn and Doctor Dayna Milton. The surviving two, a son and a daughter, the son is an operations manager for Empire trading while the daughter and get this, Lian is employed at the Gateway Corporation as a Bio-Researcher.”

Ls x
 
Just completed the pier, ramp & float phase of the project.

Broke ground (or ledge :() a year ago July 13th and now there is dock. Forgive me if this is pic heavy; but it took a lot of time & toil to get to this point and feels pretty good to see her finished off :D.



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Though waiting to see what Elise does to it Friday as she swings thru:eek:
 
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Just completed the pier, ramp & float phase of the project.

Broke ground (or ledge :() a year ago July 13th and now there is dock. Forgive me if this is pic heavy; but it took a lot of time & toil to get to this point and feels pretty good to see her finished off :D.



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Though waiting to see what Elise does to it Friday as she swings thru:eek:
So amazing. I’m sure she’ll stand tough.
 

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