Chapter 207: | 207 | Installation-0 Citadel
The Osprey soon made its landing onto the western runway of the installation. As it drove through the taxi way with its propellors slowly turning upwards, a convoy of military vehicles advanced towards the aircraft. Their body painted in jet-black as attack helicopters hovered above them.
The ramp slowly opened outward, and Abraham made his way to stand on the taxiway of the western airport. The touch of concrete along with its smoothness made him smile, though felt a bit complicated. After all, with how well-maintained the installation was, its expenses would correlate to it.
"Quite a big and intriguing place." Abraham muttered under his breath, gazing at the protruding central tower of the artificial island in the distance. It perhaps reached the height of a kilometer, which was quite an engineering marvel for the standards of the foreign world.
However, his attention was soon attracted by the incoming armed military convoy shrouded in pitch-black. Attack helicopters hovered above the convoy, giving it quite a dangerous impression. His gaze slowly narrowed as the convoy halted right beside them.
The Marines in the Osprey tightly guarded his sides, prepared of any troubles, even if they were what one could consider the safest place of the United Navy in this world.
The doors of the armored black vehicles quickly opened as soldiers emerged one after another with serious and determined gaze. They straightened their backs and saluted towards the highest authority of the United Navy, Fleet Admiral Abraham Shepherd.
In the limousine within the center of the convoy, an old man wearing a familiar uniform stepped out of the vehicle. He looked to be about 50 years old minimum, and seem to be moving well for his age. As his eyes fell upon the fleet admiral, a smile formed on his face.
"It is an honor to be in the presence of the fleet admiral." The old man straightened his back like his subordinates and saluted to the authority of the naval organization. Obviously, he didn't forget to introduce himself in the process.
"I am Admiral Julius, the commander of Installation-0, Citadel. I vow to be in servitude of the fleet admiral." After saluting, Old Julius bowed as admiration emanated from his body. The excessive loyalty of personnel was something Abraham found himself getting used to.
He nodded with a smile plastered on his face and remarked. "I thank you for your service, Admiral Julius. The United Navy is lucky to have you on our side." His tongue was full of praise, which was a much-needed talent in taking care of his subordinates.
After all, he wouldn't want to have the morale of his subordinates in the lower tide.
"I shall not keep you waiting, Fleet Admiral Shepherd. How about I give you a tour in the Citadel?" Old Julius opened the door of the limousine and gave way to the fleet admiral. Abraham didn't hesitate to accept the courtesy and got into the vehicle.
After the fleet admiral entered the limousine, Old Julius followed suit while the soldiers also returned to their respective armored vehicles. It didn't take too long for the armored convoy to be on the move, driving through the western airport of the Citadel.
Abraham sat comfortably in the limousine, finding it somewhat luxurious. There were wines throughout the interior along with a center hanging television. Old Julius calmly prepared a drink for the fleet admiral, which he composed with remarkable ease.
"Care for a drink, Fleet Admiral?" The Admiral devised a glass of wine, giving it to Abraham, who was idly staring through the black-tinted window. The voice of the old man attracted his attention, causing him to smile and respond. "Thank you, Admiral Julius."
Abraham accepted the glass of wind and drank it with an unexpected eloquence. His time with Laplace wasn't for naught. The moments they shared together drinking glasses of wind remained a significant memory for a middle-aged man like him.
"The wine in this limousine are made of the finest ingredients in Europe and Asia. They are also the last products in this world, making their worth beyond what was measured." Old Julius commented, also drinking the wine he had concocted in the vehicle.
"Are you curious about the situation of the United Navy?" Abraham calmly asked, easily piercing through the intentions of the Admiral. The old man stopped sipping his glass of wind, as his gaze narrowed in seriousness.
"The information in the data system is already something I am aware of. Although it was difficult to believe at first, the strangeness of our circumstance and our unpredictable location turned down such doubts. However, I'd like to hear about our situation from your perspective, Fleet Admiral."
Old Julius didn't desire to seek out more information from the data system. After all, the intelligence dwelling in the system were composed by the intelligence officers. What he wanted to do first before opening up the intelligence was to hear it from the mouth of the highest authority.
Abraham raised his eyebrows, but gave a nod of understanding. He placed the glass of wine in a holder and expounded five words to the admiral. It was the only thing that the old man needed to hear from him.
"We are fighting the world."
These words were enough, the reasons as to why they were fighting didn't matter to Old Julius. After all, it was clear what the fleet admiral meant with his answer. There was no doubt that they were fighting the world. Whether it'd be in the present, or later in the future.
They will be fighting the world.
"I see... Your answer is enough for me, Fleet Admiral. As I said before, Installation-0 Citadel will be under your authority and command. We will follow your orders regardless of how dubious they may seem. That is, the reason of our existence." The concluding words of the old man made him sigh.
"I appreciate your loyalty, Admiral Julius. Your words means a lot to me." Abraham responded with a smile plastered on his face. He soon noticed through the tinted windows that they finally left the confines of the western airport.
Observing the scenery in the outside, there was only two words that escaped his thoughts.
Concrete Jungle.
The central region of the Citadel was brimming with concrete buildings from all sides. It was akin to a city, though a much more fortified one.
Realizing the curiosity of the fleet admiral, Old Julius thought that it was finally time to introduced the Citadel to the highest authority. And in his opinion, it was the best part of his job. After all, he gets the opportunity to highlight the best parts of his installation.
"It appears you are curious of the installation, Fleet Admiral. Would you like for me to expound information to you?" The admiral coolly asked, earning the light chuckle of Abraham. Though, he didn't hesitate to nod in agreement, after all, he didn't deny being curious about the Citadel.
"Well, let me expound it to you."
Admiral Julius began explaining the intricacies of the installation in great detail. The first thing he expounded was the unique landscape of the artificial island. The Citadel was 500 kilometers from east to west, and north to south. A fairly sizeable island.
It has over 24 canals from the shores, leading to the Citadel in the island's center. Each canals originates from their respective cardinal directions, which brings them to the central lagoon where the port of the Citadel resided.
The lagoon was within the dome-like foundational building of the Citadel, making the fleet in repair or resupplying themselves in utmost safety. Along the canals, defensive armaments were also scattered all about. Making it difficult or improbably to lay siege upon.
At any rate, the puncturing tower that pierced through the heavens from the dome-like structure was none other than the Citadel. It was primarily considered to be the headquarters of the United Navy, which meant that at its very top was the Fleet Admiral's office.
Following the landscape of the installation was its population. The overarching population of the Citadel was fairly massive as there were about 100,000 military and logistic personnel overseeing the massive fortress that was the Installation-0.
Along with the population, the military of the Citadel was almost impressive. In its Aegis Fleet were 10 destroyers, 15 frigates, 8 attack submarines, and 2 helicopter carriers. Its mere defensive fleet was already capable of taking on the combined-offensive fleet, Spear of Longinus.
The military capabilities of the Citadel weren't to be underestimated. There was no doubt that it had the right to be called the Headquarters of the United Navy.
Though, speaking of headquarters, it did made Abraham wonder if he should transfer into the Citadel. After all, the primary operations of the United Navy needed to grow, so a transfer of a much bigger system was a needed and inevitable choice.
But this was for the future. For now, listening to the admiral's exposition should be his current duty as the fleet admiral of the United Navy.
However, as Old Julius continued to ramble about vital components of the Citadel. One information attracted the attention of Abraham the most. It was the existence of the United Navy's main R&D Department.
It was much larger than the one in the Port of Dawn, comprising about hundreds of specialists, researchers, and scientists alike with all of their own sectors of advancement. With the R&D Department of the Citadel around, it was no question that the Director and his personnel in the Port of Dawn must be transferred into Installationt-0.
'I guess I'll take action later.' Abraham thought as the armored convoy finally arrived to its destination. A massive metallic gate slowly slid open as alarms flickered in and out beside it. The pathway it was leading to was none other than the entrance of the Foundation.
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