Deep Space Settlement - 10. DSS Chapter 10

Later that afternoon, the Air Commodore received a message from its Embassy in New York. “US has given a written guarantee that it will not interfere with Canadian Airforce base on Durham Island, in the North Atlantic, and will remain out of the exclusion zone. Please ensure that the US aircraft and its crew are safely returned to their home country”.

Fifteen minutes later, with the US fighter jet fully fuelled, the two US pilots were escorted to their aircraft, minus their sidearms, which were confiscated, and watched them start-up and taxi to the runway and take-off, heading directly South West, no doubt to the waiting Aircraft Carrier.

In addition to the building material for the Airport Terminal, there was also material to build an additional 6 more bungalows, with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and 2 more officer’s bungalows with 2 bedrooms and one bathroom, to allow for a small increase of Airforce personnel on the island, of which the Canadian Airforce had been notified of the increase of accommodation available.

By the time the Airport terminal and the extra bungalows had been built, there have been no more incidences, with the US Airforce or Navy, and so just the one Navy Patrol boat remained in the area, to do regular patrols.

A week after that the next group of Airforce personnel arrived on the island, to take up their new posting on the island, just as work was beginning to build the Earth Base on Horseshoe Island.

With everything that had been happening with the islands and the US defence playing games, Lucas had not had time to work on the next big project, once the Earth Base has been relocated, and that was in regards to the relocation of the UN Headquarters proposal, that he asked the 4 Commonwealth nations to present to the UN General Assembly.

Lucas had gained a nice tan, from all the time he was spending on the islands in the North Pacific, and he was enjoying spending time on the islands, even though it has had its problems of late, but now with the Earth Base being relocated, he was looking forward to spending more time there, when he is not needed to fly back to the academy on Mars, or to Ganymede.

Taking just three short weeks, the new Earth Base on Horseshoe Island was now completed, along with the additional accommodation for the Sahndrol staff to be based at the new Earth Base, which has room for a large cargo shuttle plus 4 mini shuttles, for short-distance travel around Earth.

Just a week earlier, Lucas had received news from the United Nations, that the proposal to relocate the United Nations to a more neutral location, had been received and was under consideration by all the members of the General Assembly, with a request for other alternative locations apart from Bermuda.

Lucas wrote a submission to the United Nations, suggesting Sahndrol Island in the North Atlantic, as a more neutral and central location, with the distance from New York and Montreal, being between 1750 and 1900 km’s West and South West from the islands.

With Bermuda Island being 1150 km’s South West of the Islands, Ponta Delgada, the capital of the Azores Islands being 2130 kms East of the Islands, and Ponta Delgada being 2500 kilometres South West of Heathrow, London as an ideal midway stop-over.

Lucas also had another location in mind, and that was the Cocos Keeling Islands, in the Indian Ocean, a Territory of Australia, as it is more central to all countries, with Diego Garcia as another possible location.

Once Lucas had sent the email to the Secretary-General of the UN, Lucas headed over to the Airforce base, for his weekly meeting with the Air Commodore, to discuss any issues, and also to inform him of the possibility of the UN moving to the Sahndrol Islands.

When Lucas told the Air Commodore the plans for the UN to move to the islands, he nearly choked on the coffee that he was drinking, spraying coffee all over his desk, and just missing Lucas. After a bit more of a discussion on other matters, Lucas left the Air Commodore to think about the proposal and discuss it with his superiors, to see their response on the idea.