XDSI - 8. XD Ch 8

Looking at Sebastian’s new yacht from the upper aft deck of my yacht, it looks to be about 20 metres longer, with five decks, and looking closely at the mast that has the communications aerials and satellite has a join in it, where it can be lowered, which explained how it managed to get underneath the three bridges.

About fifteen minutes later, Wyatt and I stepped off my yacht and we walked the short distance to the other end of the jetty and boarded the new yacht. “Welcome aboard Mr Devonport,” Sebastian’s Captain said from the main deck as we climbed the stairs to that deck.

“Thankyou Captain, this looks like a very nice yacht,” I responded, “It is sir, very nice indeed, 76.6 metres long, 14 metre beam, 1 VIP cabin, 1 VIP mini suite, and 1 VIP suite, 4 queen and 2 twin guest cabins. Plus 2 staff cabins and the master suite, even the crew are very happy with their new home,” the Captain replied.

“What is the situation with the Southern Explorer?” I enquired, “That is Reverend and Mrs Davies new home, with a basic crew, and they are anchored at Bluff Cove, about half an hours drive west south-west of Stanley. They are very happy with their new home and the boys have settled in well with their new school, so I am guessing that they will be there for a long time,” the captain replied.

“Sue has turned the Southern Explorer into a floating hotel, with the ten guest cabins available for overseas guests, which I thought would be dangerous, considering what had happened in South Perth and West Perth. Kyle has ensured me that each guest is thoroughly screened well before they are on their way to the Falklands,” Sebastian said as he approached, with Lewis by his side.

“Hello cousin, how are things going,” I said to Sebastian, “Good thankyou, good to be back in WA,” Sebastian replied, “Nice new yacht you have here, were did you get this one from?” I asked, “Singapore, we all flew there from Auckland on the way back from Stanley, once the new basic crew had been put into place onboard the Southern Explorer to keep it humming at its new home,” Sebastian replied.

Over the next half an hour we were given a tour of the five decks of the yacht, and which is very nice, before sitting down at the smaller of the two dining tables on the main deck that seats eight people, while the larger table can seat 16 people.

“What are your plans now?” I asked Sebastian during dinner, “Well we will be staying here for a short while, as we would like to check out your big project in Northam, which I hear is operating very well, with a very efficient CEO and Operations Manager,” Sebastian said, and Wyatt laughed at this comment.

“I agree sir, he keeps a very tight ship at the terminal, although the local Aero Club was not too happy, having to deal with controlled airspace, and they chose to relocate as a result of it,” Wyatt commented, “My administration manager here, also keeps a tight ship,” I commented.

“I learnt from the best sir,” Wyatt said smiling, and this time Xavier laughed at the banter between his brother and me, as did Sir Lewis and Sebastian. “We leave at 5.15am tomorrow, you are welcome to join us if you wish,” I said to my cousin. “Crumbs, that is very early, no we will come a bit later than that,” Sebastian replied.

“As you wish, it is a 95 minute journey to the airport from here, that is why we leave so early, as I need to be at work by 7 am each week day,” I said to my cousin. “How many aircraft movements do you have each day?” Lewis asked, “It is 32 at the moment, but it will increase to 46 in the next few weeks,” Wyatt replied.

“That is quite a lot more than I expected, how are the tower staff coping with the demands?” Sebastian asked me, “they are doing quite well actually, not as demanding as Perth Airport or any other major city airport. We have a weekly meeting, and they appear to be happy with everything,” I replied.

“Good to hear, we have had a discussion about another project of yours, and we have decided and are prepared to finance the construction of the top section of the tower, but to lessen the disruption of current commercial tenants, we will have it built in two sections and air lifted into place,” Sebastian announced.

“Wow, that is great, thanks for that, I think we will make is just a general viewing area at the top level, so the public can get a chance to see the great views without any restrictions,” I responded. “That is what I was hoping you would say, now what about the rest of the space around the tower, is that going to be public space too?’ Sebastian asked.

I was thinking of maybe having a landscaped garden miniature golf course, so that it can by enjoyed by everyone,” I replied, “Good I like that, I look forward to seeing it all when completed,” Sebastian said to me. After an enjoyable dinner, Wyatt and I returned to my home, and headed for bed, as we had a busy week ahead of us, with an early start, as we do each weekday.

On the way into work the next morning, Wyatt as usual had his laptop open, and was scanning for latest news updates, when he froze for a moment, which caught my attention. “What is it, what have you found?” I asked Wyatt. “Well sir, it appears that the Chinese government has some competition,” Wyatt replied.

Wyatt waited until we were parked at the airport before continuing with what he had discovered. “Giant private Swiss Corporation provides alternative,” he read out of the headlines. “Alternative to what?” I asked, and Wyatt smiled broadly.

I will let you read the news article when we get to the office upstairs,” Wyatt replied, as we entered the terminal, which already has the airconditioning on, with the two staff on duty in the air traffic control tower, as we passed through security and headed up to the first floor.

Once in the Terminal administration building and sitting at my desk, Wyatt placed his laptop in front of me. “Swiss based investment corporation Wagner Investments Corp, owned by Sebastian Wagner and his husband Australian Sir Lewis Shaw, the former Indian Ocean Territory Administrator, have been counter offering investments to island nations that have accepted China Belt & Road funding.

Wagner Investments have paid the full amount owned to China after projects at Manus Island, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and Fiji, so that China no long has control of the South Pacific region, with those nations asked to not accept any future offers for major construction projects from Beijing.”

“Wow, that must have cost a huge packet to do all of that,” I commented, knowing that Sebastian had done very well with his investments over the years, and could easily cover all of expenses quite easily. “Sir I have found some more information in regards to the same subject,” Wyatt called out from the reception desk, where he spends most of his time during the day.

An email appeared on the computer, and I opened it and clicked on the link, “Maldives new airport runway in Velana, funded by the China Belt & Road Initiative, with China now has eyes out for more islands to build on,” the online article read, as the computer indicated another email from the admin reception desk.

“A statement sent to media groups in Australia, from Wagner Corporation which has it’s head office in Switzerland, however, Mr Wagner and his partner reside in Western Australia, today announced that the large amount of investment in the Pacific region recently, is to stop the trend of China, using large construction projects to get a foot in the door, in the region beyond its borders.

Mr Wagner stated that the Pacific Island nations that had signed up to China’s BRI now have freedom to continue, without the worry or risk of Chinese influences or pressures, due to money owing from the projects. Wagner Investments has also invested in the purchase of a number of Australian Islands off the east coast, to stop any other possible Chinese purchases, to get closer to Australia.

Mr Wagner has encouraged the Australian Federal Government to put stricter regulations into place, regards islands that are mostly covered with national parks, with some resorts on them, so there are fewer chances of foreign investments getting too close to the Australian coastline”.

“Looks like Mr Sebastian has been very busy lately,” Wyatt said from the doorway of my office, “Yes indeed, and all for a good cause, which is good to see,” I replied, as I handed back his laptop, and I kick started my desk computer, to start work.

When Sebastian and Lewis finally arrived, a bit after 9 am, I spent the next hour showing them around the terminal, including the control tower, before returning to the staff room in the admin suite. I have been doing a bit of reading this morning, you have been very busy lately,” I said after handing my VIP guests their cups of tea.

Lewis laughed softly at my enquiry, “I bet it was Wyatt that brought it to your attention?” Sebastian asked. “Of course it was, he likes to keep up to date with all the current news,” I responded. “Xavier does the same thing, keeping me and Sebastian up to date with everything,” Lewis commented.

“What are you plans now that you have seen this and are well on the way to protecting Australia’s borders?” I asked Sebastian, “We may slow down a bit, as we have done way too much spending lately, and I think I will convince my husband to return to the Falklands for a while,” Lewis said to me, and I gave a little laugh.

“We have just arrived back from there dearest, I think we should take this little tub for a proper work out, maybe up and down the east coast a few times,” Sebastian added, and this time it was me that laughed. “How are things going with the three Island groups of the IOT of Australia?” I enquired; which brought a groan from Lewis.

“That is another thing we need to do, to make sure that the Australian Government is on the alert over there, especially since the Chinese have been investing a lot in the region,” Sebastian said. “My dear husband here forced me to send an email to the GG – Governor General, and to the PM – Prime Minister, to express our concerns about safety of the Indian Ocean Territories.

Expressing that we do not want a repeat of what happened on Christmas Island, especially when the Chinese RBI recently completed the enlarging of the airport runway at Velana,” Lewis said to me, as Sebastian nodded his head in agreement.

“Will you fly up there or take your new toy to get to the IO Islands?” I asked, “I think we will take the yacht, so we have our own accommodation, since it is the middle of the tourist season up there at present,” Sebastian replied, and Lewis groaned again, which Sebastian ignored.

After my VIP guests had left to return to Perth, I was on the phone to arrange for the construction company that built the lower half of the tower, to prepare for building the upper half, but not onsite. After some negotiations, I was able to secure the parkland just north of the casino, as a building site for the top half of the tower, which is directly across the river from the tower, and it would not disrupt any major roads during construction.

As Sebastian recommended, the tower will be built in two sections, the first will be up to the third level, including the viewing platform, which will be at 280 metres and will include the top floor viewing platform, so it will be well over double its current height of 120 metres.

The last section of the tower is just 44 metres high, and will include a replica Gustave’s Office, which is just 100 square metres in area, just below the top spire. At 324 metres high, it will be the only full size replica of the Eiffel Tower in the world, and it will become the tallest building in Perth, with it to be 74 metres taller than the current tallest building.

Currently the two levels of the Perth version of the Eiffel Tower is the 12^th highest building in the city, and even with the third level in place, at 280 metres, it will be the highest tower by approximately 31 metres, and I was seriously considering just stopping it at that level.

Like the real Eiffel Tower, the second floor has two levels, as does the third level, currently I have the first level as a big open display room, with information boards on everything to do with the measurements of the tower and the history of the real Eiffel Tower.

The lower second level has a total of two restaurants and two cafés, plus public toilets and a cleaner’s store. The upper second level has just one restaurant, two cafés and two shops, due to the floor space being a little smaller. I was not sure what to do with the upper third level and for now, I decided to have it closed off when completed, and maybe use it for an art gallery or something like that, while the lower level will be just a public viewing area.

So far, the Swan Tower as it is known, has had a large number of tourists come to visit it and also to dine in one of the restaurant’s and cafés. A small fee is charged to each visitor to go up into the tower, to cover the costs of wages for the small number of staff I employ to manage the Swan Tower.

Six months after construction began, the next level was completed, and I decided to put a hold on the top section for now, and once the stairs and elevators were in place, it was opened to the public to visit level 3 lower, while the upper level will remain closed for now.

The Avon Valley Airport has been running well, and I was now relying on Wyatt a lot more with the workload, and I was currently looking for someone to replace me as the Operations Manager of the Airport, so I can have some more time to just relax. I was getting a little tired of the very long days of travelling to and from work, as well as working a nine-hour day.

One Thursday morning, just a week after the opening of the third level of Swan Tower, Wyatt brought an printout of an email to my desk, which is from Sebastian. “Thought you may want to reduce your hours at the airport, so I have searched for and found a suitable Airport Operations Manager for you.

Her name is Helene Olsen, and she is from Oslo, Norway, fluent in English, German, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and has over fifteen years of experience, in Air Traffic Control Management. She will be arriving at 7 am tomorrow morning to start orientation for work. Regards, Sebastian.”

“Looks like I can have a bit of a holiday, where should we go?” I said to Wyatt, “Well I received a second email, also from Sebastian, it reads, “When you decided you can leave the airport in the hands of your new Terminal manager, we would like you to join us in Cocos Keeling Islands for a bit of a holiday, Sebastian,” Wyatt announced.

“Well, it looks like we are going to the Indian Ocean Territories for a holiday, I commented, “Excellent news, bring out the boardies and sunscreen,” Wyatt said happily as he returned to his desk, “You have to find a replacement for your position first,” I called out.

Just two weeks later, after officially handing over to Helene, and her new assistant Julian, a chartered executive jet landed at Avon Valley, and after catching the Avonlink Train from Midland to Northam, and a car from the terminal collecting us, we arrived at the airport just fifteen minutes before the charter plane landed.

The flight took nearly four hours to get from Northam to Cocos Keeling Islands, and was quite uneventful, and a four wheel drive vehicle at the terminal waiting to collect us, with Xavier being our driver.

“Welcome to the Cocos Keeling Islands Sir and Wyatt,” he said as we entered the main foyer, after collecting out luggage.