Aquaria - 16. Aqu Chapter 16

“Joshua, this is your great uncle Jonah, he is the Captain of this submarine, and your great aunty Natalia” I said making the introductions, “Do you have a whale?” Joshua asked, which made all of us laugh. “No, I don’t Joshua, but I think I was named after one” Jonah replied smiling as he shook Joshua’s small hand, “It is nice to meet you Captain Uncle Jonah” Joshua said politely, before turning to his great aunt, “Hello aunty Nattie” Joshua said before Natalia bent down and wrapped Joshua in a big hug.

“Ah there you all are, we were wondering where you got too?” Julia said when she and Dan appeared. “Has your father shown you the place, where we drive this submarine?” Dan asked, “No, can I see it please?” Joshua replied excitedly, as he grabbed Dan’s hand and they headed forward, with Jonah and Natalia following.

“Phew, I thought the grand tour would never end, it took us nearly two hours, just to show him the basics of each deck” I said to Jonah and Julia, who remained behind with me, and they chuckled at my comment. “He does have a lot of energy for a five-year old, now he is in your life you are going to have to get use to that” Julia said to me, and I groaned, which had Jonah and Julia laughing.

“Don’t you start Mr, you got out of dealing with late night feeds, nappy changes and potty training, so now it is your turn to start taking some responsibility in your son’s life” Julia said to me. “Yes, ok, but you must remember, I am the Science Research Project Director, so I have my own responsibilities to deal with, so we will have to set out a timetable for when I can spend time with Joshua” I responded.

“So how is it that you ended up leaving the Navy and serving onboard this huge tub” Julia asked me, “Why, didn’t Dan tell you all about it?” I asked, “No, only that you both work for a huge UK based company, that specialises in marine research, and that Mr Lloyd the Managing Director, who was very kind enough to take me and Joshua around London, including the Zoo” Julia said to me.

At that moment, my father suddenly arrived, “Ah there you are Trenton, I was wondering where everyone was” my father said to us. “It appears that Dan has not told you the full story of the connection between me and this submarine and the company” I said to my father. “Sit down please dear and let me explain” my father said, and we all took a seat in the lounge.

As you know I am the Managing Director, and major shareholder of Lloyd Family Corporation, I have two younger sisters, Meredith Armstrong, and Natalia Burke, both of them do not have an active role with the company, but the youngest sister, is married to Captain Jonah Burke, the captain of this vessel, that was her and the captain following Dan and Joshua to the bridge.

As you know, Dan is the 1st officer of this vessel, so your husband has a very important role onboard. In regards to me, I had a relationship when I was younger, and unknown to me, I have a son who came into my life, while this vessel was being constructed, and he is the second highest shareholder of the company, with my sisters having minor shares and the rest of the 26% of shares are spread out amongst investors” my father explained.

I could see that Julia was trying to work out in her head what all of this meant. “What Mr Lloyd is trying to say is that his girlfriend, who has since passed away is my late mother… I am Mr Lloyd’s son” I said, and we watched as Julia looked from my father to me and back to my father, who smiled and nodded his head, “Holy, oops… wow, now that is a big news flash” Julia said eventually.

“I have already introduced Joshua to his great uncle Jonah and aunt Natalia, which he calls her aunt Nattie, and I believe Dad mentioned to Joshua while at London Zoo that he is Joshua’s grandfather” I announced to Julia, “well that is a bit of a shock. By the way, how long did Joshua nap for?” Julia replied, “Almost an hour, then we have been touring the sub ever since” I answered. “Good, he should sleep well tonight then” Julia added.

“I must go and get things sorted in our quarters, I bought a few wall tapestries, and paintings, plus some rugs, to brighten up the rooms a little” Julia said to us, just as Dan, Joshua and Natalia reappeared. “I am free to help you with some of that dear, if Joshua can hang out with his father for a while” Dan said.

“Ok, can you bring Joshua back to the suite in an hour, so I can get him ready for dinner” Julia asked me, “Sure thing, I will do that for you, and I will send Travis over to help you” I replied

“Who is Travis?” Julia asked, looking at me and then at Dan. “Travis is one of two VIP stewards, who are available to assist with anything we need, all you have to do is pick up the phone and dial 22” Dan explained, “Oh that’s nice, I’ve never had a butler before” Julia replied, “You have to share them with me and my dad remember” I commented, and Julia smiled and nodded her understanding.

“Right young man, lets head to the café, and see if we can get some ice-cream” I said to my son, after Dan and Julia had left, “Yaah, that’s on deck 4, right?” Joshua replied happily, “No, deck 3, but you were close” I replied, and we headed for the elevators to take us down one deck.

Just over an hour later, we all gathered in the Senior Officer’s dining room for dinner, which was now more of a family reunion. “Am I permitted to know where we are going from here, I saw the news conference you held earlier today?” Julia asked when there was a break in the general conversation, and I looked towards my father.

“Well that is one of the reasons that I am here in Canada, to brief Captain Jonah and Trenton, on what will be happening, at the moment all I can say to you Julia, is that when we have the 42 cadets arrive and settled tomorrow afternoon, the Aquaria will be heading north, and around the top of Canada and Alaska” my father announced, which we already knew.

“What about you father, will you be joining us?” I asked, “Unfortunately no, I won’t be, I have to return to the UK to deal with some important business, but I will come and join you, in about one months’ time” my Dad replied. I knew there was a lot more he could have said, but I knew that would come at a briefing some time later.

The following day, Dad and I were having breakfast in the suite lounge. “I was thinking, would it not be better if Dan, Julia and Joshua were in B suite, so that Joshua is closer to you, they will also have a lot more room, and there is the forward observation lounge that the family can use” Dad suggested to me. “I will put the idea to Dan, and leave it up to him to decide, but it is fine by me” I replied.

“Ok, I will speak to him straight after breakfast” Dad informed me, “I think I will make the meeting room into my office, so I can talk without having to send Jocelyn out of the office all the time, and the conference room next door can do as our main meeting room.

I think we should make all of this bow section for the family and Project administration, that way Dan, Julia and Joshua have an additional lounge area on the port side, as well as the observation lounge” I suggested.“What about the two rooms forward of the conference room?” my Dad asked me, “Hmm, not sure yet, but I am sure I will come up with a use for them” I replied.

“I know you are curious about why I am here to brief you and Jonah, but because it is a very special project, I cannot tell you much detail yet, just be patient, and all shall be revealed. By the way, the cadets will be arriving just before lunch time today, so once they are settled and I am off the vessel, you can instruct Jonah to set sail for Hooper Bay, on the West coast of Alaska” my Dad said to me before leaving the suite.

When Nigel arrived about 15 minutes later, to clear away the dishes, I stopped him for a moment. “When that is done, can you round up Travis, as I have a job that needs the both of you” I said to him, before he gathered the dishes and headed out of the suite.

Fifteen minutes later Travis and Nigel returned, and Travis didn’t look to happy. “Is Mrs Atkins causing you some problems?” I asked, “Just a little bit sir” Travis replied politely, which made me chuckle a little, “I will have a talk to Commander Atkins about it and see what can be done.

Oh, by the way, my father will be suggesting that the Atkins family move into suite B, so there is more room for them and young Joshua, as well as he being closer to me, no doubt you have already heard, Joshua is actually my son, from when Julia and I had a relationship back in the University days” I said.

“Yes sir, Commander Atkins informed us of the situation” Nigel responded, “Right, I want to move my desk into the meeting room, so I have my own office, my desk can go into one corner closest to the admin office, and the meeting table can be centred against the back wall.

That will leave a little bit more room in the admin office for the lounge to be spared out a little more, and give more room for Jocelyn to work” I announced, and within twenty minutes, we had everything in order, just how I wanted it to be, with just 2 ½ feet between my desk and the table, which was perfect.

Shortly after 1100 hours, Jocelyn put through a call to me, “Hello Trenton Blackthorn speaking” I said, not sure who was calling, “Trent, it is Jonah speaking, just thought you would like to be present when the cadets arrive, your father is getting them to gather in the great hall” my uncle said to me, before ending the call.

“The cadets have arrived, I’m heading to the great hall” I said to Jocelyn as I dashed out of the office and headed up two decks to where the great hall is located. Jonah and my father were waiting for me at the elevator, as I stepped on top deck 4. “Right lets’ get this over and done with, then I can brief you two before you set off” my father announced, as he led the way down the hall and into the great hall.

“Silence please” came a loud shout, and everyone went quiet. “Good morning, and welcome on board the Research Science Vessel Aquaria, my name is Mr Hamysh Lloyd, owner and Managing Director of Lloyd Family Corporation, which owns this research vessel.

With me I have my sister, Mrs Natalia Burke and her husband, Captain Jonah Burke, the captain of this vessel, also we have the 1st Officer Mr Daniel Atkins, who has his family onboard with us, and finally Mr Trenton Blackthorn, who is the Research Project Director, in charge of all science research projects that this vessel is designed and built for, and your supervisor.

We have a total of 17 families onboard this vessel, including 32 children aged from 5 to 11 years, this is probably a lot bigger than you expected this vessel to be, it has a total of 9 decks, of which you have access to decks 3 to 7. The vessel has everything from a shopping mall, recreation rooms, gymnasium, lounge rooms, cafes, three restaurants, and lots more, that you will discover during your three-month stay.

I know that all of you have completed your deep-sea training, the Aquaria will only be going to a maximum of 145 metres for most of the journey, far less than the 420 metres that it can travel at. Some of the journey will be under ice, as you are about to travel along the top of Canada and Alaska, to the Pacific Ocean, which will usually only take us five days to complete, but you will be stopping a few times, and going topside, to do some research while in the arctic region.

I wish you all the best of luck and hope you enjoy your time onboard the Aquaria, I will hand you over to the Captain for more instructions” my dad said to the cadets. “Right, an officer at the door will hand you a layout map of this vessel, areas that are marked in red are no-go areas for all cadets, and if you get caught, be warned there will be punishments given.

This is an operation underwater vessel, so I suggest for the safety of yourself and all the crew, stay out of these areas. There are also areas, that are signposted as Executive Areas, these are also no-go areas, and the same punishments will be handed out if you are caught in those areas.

Ok, we are on deck 4 now, go and grab a layout map, and head off to your living quarters on deck 7, and at 1230 hours, have some lunch in the Deck restaurant on deck 6, which is where you will have all your meals.Mr Blackthorn will speak to you all later, regarding work duties, that is all” my uncle said to the cadets who filed out of the great hall.

“Well that went ok I think” I said to my father, uncle and aunt, who remained after the cadets had left, “Yes, now Jonah and Trenton, can you join me in the executive conference room on deck 1, then after I must leave you and return to the UK” my father announced.

Once we were all seated in the conference room, Jonah and I looked at my father, waiting for him to announce what he has to say. Pulling out a large yellow envelope from his inside jacket pocket, he placed it on the table in front of him.