Indian Ocean Invasion - 34. IOI Chapter 34

“I am not sure if you have eaten or not, I forgot to ask, we delayed dinner until your arrival” Sebastian announced, just as Xavier delivered my orange juice.

“I have had a little bit, but sure if I would be eating again, so that is fine” I replied, “Well then, lets head to the dining table shall we” one of the twins said, noticing that neither of them is wearing their watches tonight, and I frown.

“Tell me lads, how is the projects going in Kalbarri?” I asked the twins, who had Margaret sitting between them at the table. “All is going very smoothly, although we still have not come up with a suitable solution for the tall ship” one of the twins said in reply.

“When all of the current projects are completed and officially opened, we will be looking at finding a new project, and I think Sebastian has come up with a good idea” the other twin said, “I will talk to you laterabout that, once we have eaten and drunk plenty” Sebastian said with a huge grin. The house looks pretty impressive from where we are, this afternoon” Margaret commented to me.

“Yes, it is nice. 3 bedrooms, a library, ballroom, formal dining room, and my administration offices at the front” I responded, “When will we get to see it?” a teenager asked me, who I presumed to be Sebastian’s cousin.

“How rude of me, Sir Lewis, may I introduce the twins and my first cousin – Master Alexander Devonport” Sebastian said making the introductions, and the teenager gave me a slight nod of the head.

“To answer your question, Master Alexander, there will be an official morning tea at Government house, after the official ceremony is conducted on the beach near the town jetty, it is 500 metres from there to Government House, so just a short walk” I replied.

After a wonderful dinner, Sebastian asked me to join him and the twins top deck saloon, which I had no idea where it is located, so I just followed them through the foyer, and out past the swimming pool, heading forward and through another set of doors, and up a set of stairs, to the next level up, where we entered a small saloon.

Although it is miles away from our cabins, this saloon is dedicated for owners use only” one of the twins said as we all sat down in the comfortable lounges suite, looking out through a wide glass wall to the helipad at the other end of the ship. “This is some ship you have here Sebastian and must have cost a huge amount” I commented.

“That it did, and while the other two yachts are big and comfortable, they are for charter use, while this one will become our mobile home and office, as you see over there we have already installed a number of large office desks, some filing cabinets, and all the office gear that we need” one of the twins said.

“Right now, let’s get this meeting started, the twins and I had a Wagner Corp executive meeting this afternoon, and we have come up with ideas that we want to run by you.

Although the projects at Kalbarri are great, it splits the family apart to much with the twins being based in Western Australia, and me based in London and Zurich, our company practically runs on its own now, thanks to the team of dedicated staff that I have with me, of which two of them are onboard now.

Because of this, we three would like to relax a bit more and spend less time on business, and more time on enjoying wonderful new challenges. With that said, we would like to be based here in Christmas Island, where it is nice and warm and tropical all year round, and we understand that you have a very daunting challenge ahead of you, which we would like to help you with.

The first thing we would like to do, is to have private jet flights from mainland Australia to Christmas Island, the Cocoas Keeling Islands and to Diego Garcia, to boost tourism in the three territory groups. We are willing to pay for upgrades and maintenance costs for all three airports, plus build three larger modern airport terminals, to be able to handle the extra flow of tourists.

If there is a shortage of hotel accommodation, we will also invest in building hotels in each island group, to cater for all levels of visitors, from businessmen, right down to economy family groups.

We have already hashed out a rough plan on how often and what flight routes to have, with one route being from Darwin to Christmas Island, via Broome, and the other being from Broome to Diego Garcia, via the Cocos Keeling Islands.

We are thinking of using just business jets at first, as they are more economical, and have a great distance range, I have travelled on the ones we are getting, they are comfortable as an executive jet, but if we can change the configuration, so we can safely seat 16 passengers and their luggage, plus two pilots and two cabin crew, with three weekly flights on each of the two routes, and Christmas Island as our aircraft base.

This way we will have on ongoing project to keep us busy, and it will be beneficial to the communities in each of the three regions” Sebastian announced, and I was shocked at what I thought was a very generous idea, which would solve a lot of problems on Christmas Island in particular, but also in the Chagos region, where they were still building their communities.

“I would like to see all of these proposals down on paper, so it is all legal, and we will need to consult with the local governments of Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands and the Chief Council of the Chagos Archipelago” I said eventually, after a few moments of thought.

“That is good to hear, all the input needed is welcomed, and don’t worry about Kalbarri, they will still get their grandstand, and recreation centre extensions as promised, and the community park on Grey street has already been landscaped and is open for public use already” Sebastian said.

“I would also like to suggest, that we donate some money to the local government councils, to help with maintenance issues around the island, Louis and I went for a drive this afternoon, and it would look much better for the visitors, if the island was made a bit more presentable” Joachim stated, “I am sure that would be very much appreciated” I responded, and soon after we ended out meeting, and we headed back to our suites.

The next morning, I was up before dawn, and I had a shower and changed into my Naval Dress Uniform, before picking up the phone and dialling one.

“Good morning Sir, this is Xavier speaking, how may I assist you” a cheery voice said to me, which made me feel happy. “Good morning, may I have cups of tea and toast for two in the main saloon, and is Mrs Sanders up yet? I responded.

“Yes sir, right away, and just dial 16 to get her cabin” Xavier replied and ended the call, and I dialled 16 on the phone to speak to Kylie. “Good morning, Kylie speaking” I heard her say, “Good Morning Mrs Sanders, just checking that you are awake, breakfast will be in the main saloon in five minutes” I replied.

“Good morning Lewis are you ready for your big day?” Kylie said cheerfully, “As ready as I will ever be” I replied, “See you in five minutes then” Kylie said, and she ended the call.

While having our breakfast, Sebastian arrived and joined us at the table. “Good Morning Kylie and Lewis, how are you both this fine morning” he said to us, “I am fine thank you, but my best friend seems to be a little edgy” Kylie replied, and Sebastian smiled as he chuckled, “Don’t worry, he will be just fine, by the way, the Navy is sending a boat over to collect you both in fifteen minutes time.

The Naval ship is anchored 400 metres out from the beach, and we are just around the corner, out of sight from the main beach, once you have been collected, we will go around to Waterfall Beach and anchor there, and get a taxi from the nearby resort, to come into the settlement, to watch all of the ceremony” Sebastian announced.

“Ok, it can get fairly rough seas over that way, so make sure the Captain secures the anchors properly, as it is mostly rocky cliffs in that area” I said to Sebastian, who nodded his head in understanding. When the naval transport boat arrived, Kylie and I stepped onboard, and we were transported around the corner to where the naval ship was waiting for us, just west of Smith Point.

I was given the required ceremonial welcome, with the ship’s captain and his senior officers there to greet me and Kylie, before shown indoors, and taken to the officers’ mess, where we could relax for the two hours before the official ceremony begins. I was nervous as hell about what I was to face in the next few years, now that I was committed to life as a high-level servant.

Time seemed to slow down, as we waited for the time to board the transport boat, and make our way back onto the island, and by the time we stepped onto the small beach, the HMAS Anzac had turned slightly, so its guns are pointing south west, out to sea, and they fired 19 shots to give me the ceremonial welcome, with all the VIP guests gathered at the top of the boat ramp, with hundreds of locals gathered to watch the event.

The official car was parked on the road pointing towards the bridge, with Captain Watts and Staff Sergeant Lister in dress uniform, standing beside the car. Lining the sides of the boat ramp was a full platoon of armed Australian Army soldiers, all in dress uniform, with a Captain at the platoon commander, and they saluted as Kylie and I walked up the boat ramp, where the Shire President and Shire CEO and their wives greeted me, before I stood at the podium that had been set up.

“Mr Shire President and shire Councillors of Christmas Island, and Shire staff, Mr Shire President and shire Councillors of the Cocos Keeling Islands, the honourable Mr Karl Andover, Deputy Administrator of the Chagos Archipelago and the honourable Council Chief of Chagos Archipelago, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen and island visitors.

I thank you all for this wonderful welcome today, as I commence my three-year term as the next Administrator of the Indian Ocean Territories of Australia, and as Special Magistrate of Christmas Island.

As some of you know, I was the first deputy administrator of the Chagos Archipelago, and during my 15-month term there, I hope that I was able to make a difference with the regions transition from being just a joint military base, to be the returned home of the Chagos people. I felt that being there on the islands, I was able to get a better understanding of what is happening in the region, and I hope to do the same here.

Some of you may have noticed a large white exploration ship, anchored off the cove yesterday afternoon, the owners of that ship are Wagner Family Corporation, run by three brothers, who although they are from Switzerland, they have spent many years visiting Australia, and helping communities, that may be struggling.

I have had a number of meetings with the Wagner brothers, and they have offered their assistance to make improvements to the three island groups, so as to make living more enjoyable for the local residents, and the island a more enjoyable place to visit by tourists, and I will be working closely with them and the local government councils to make this possible.

Sometime next week, we will be having a Government house open day, so that you, the local people can have a look inside and around Government House, formally known as Tai Jin House, thankyou once again for being here today” I said to all that were gathered, and Kylie and I made our ways towards my official vehicle, and climbed in.

As we passed the bridge, and the house came into view, so did a long line of Naval officers and sailors, giving me a parade of honour, as the vehicle came to a stop at the front of the house, and Captain Watts let us out of the car, and unlocked the front gate with a remote. Staff Sergeant Linden drove on, so he could turn around up near the large defence gun, and to let the other visitor’s vehicles to drop off their guests.

Kylie and I stood just inside the door to the main foyer, while Captain Watts made the official arrivals announcements, and we greeted them, and directed them into the ballroom for morning tea, and where a music quintet from the local high school are playing some classical music. The last to arrive were Sebastian and his two brothers, Margaret and much to my surprise, Jeremy.

“Hello brother, this is a nice surprise” I said as I shook his hand, “Margaret suggested that I come along for family support, I am only staying for two days, then I have to return to Adelaide, congratulations on your new job, and well done with the speech, not too long and boring like most formal events” Jeremy said to me with a big grin, and I just chuckled.

“I will add you to the dinner guest list, make sure to be here at 6pm tonight in a dinner jacket” I said to my brother, “Will do, Sir Lewis” Jeremy said to me before Margaret pulled him away, to get some refreshments, and Sebastian stepped forward to speak to me. “I hope that I was not out of line, speaking about you planning to assist with improvements to the islands?” I asked him.

“No, that is fine Sir Lewis, it may be just what you need, to get the local councils keen to be involved” Sebastian replied to me, and I nodded my head and smiled, before Kylie re-joined me, placing her arm into mine, and we began to mingle amongst the guests.