Chapter 49

The CPO opens the door and lets my delegation in. I was expecting there to be four of them, but there are six.

Japanese businessmen often bring on translators even if they aren’t needed. In some ways, it is a bit deceitful, making people think you don’t understand what they are saying. It is also a good practice. It is easy for there to be misunderstandings if at least one person isn’t speaking their native tongue.

I have no clue who the second person is that Jean-Paul brought with him.

Entering the room, my delegation heads directly towards the gentlemen from MI5, to start shaking hands. I state, “since I am the one who knows the most people, I should begin the introductions. We have Jacob and David from MI5. Then there are RADMs Taylor and Jones. And finally, the is the First Sea Lord himself, Admiral of the Fleet Julian Oswald.

“As for my crew, we have Nagamori San CEO of Kawasaki and Brown’s Shipyards. I’ll let him introduce the people he brought with him.”

“Hei, this is my President in charge of new contracts, Takahashi San, And our translator Nakamura Kun.”

I continue, “This is Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of Brown’s Conglomerate. I’ll let him introduce his people.”

“Bonjour, this is Yanai San, CEO of Brown’s DC, our defence contractor. And this is Adele Bernard, my executive secretary.”

Once everybody is done shaking hands, my team joins me on my side of the table and takes a seat. I give everybody a chance to settle in and take out their notes. The First Sea Lord clears his throat to get everybody’s attention then says, “We apologize for keeping you waiting. We had more pressing issues we needed to discuss with Mr. Brown.”

I nod my head at him in recognition of his efforts. Telling half-truths to my people isn’t something I appreciate, but I do recognize that he is putting forth an effort. I just wish it were that easy to change the casteist ways prevalent in most of the Commonwealth navies.

I begin, “We appreciate your apology. I know that we need to have somebody from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and somebody from the Ministry of Defence for a proper negotiation. However, I think it best to give you a little insight into what we are looking for and what we can do for you so you can take it to your people and let them know how serious we are. We can reconvene to discuss specifics on Monday. I would also suggest having representatives from Vosper Thornycroft here for reasons that will become obvious.

“To start with, you have been mandated to start finding ways to downsize your military.”

The admiralty is shocked that I would know such a thing. RADM Taylor interrupts, “There is no way you could know that.”

“Please, don’t insult my intelligence. 1) It is well known that the Warsaw Pact is at odds with itself and is about to collapse. In April, they will meet, but because of their difference of view, they will solve nothing, and it will be the beginning of the end for the Warsaw Pact. 2) Talks have begun for the reunification of Germany. 3) Poland withdrew from the Warsaw Pact. They still attend meetings, and there are negotiations to get them to sign back on, but there is dissension in the ranks. 4) There are demonstrations for independence in Lithuania and Nakhichevan. 5) Yugoslavia is dissolving their communist government and is on the brink of a civil war. All of this is only the start of the Iron Curtain falling.

“Add to the political climate, your country’s financial situation and your recent order of a fleet of minehunters to replace your ageing fleet of minesweepers. It is a strong indication that you were given your order to start finding ways of downsizing.”

Minehunters only search out sea mines but have no way to dispose of them. A minesweeper hunts them and removes them. Most also have means of blowing them up in place. Tactically a sweeper is much more valuable, especially since they have a means of transporting mines so it can also be used as a minelayer when needed.

“I know that part of the reason you awarded the bid to Vosper Thornycroft was to try and save the company and kickstart shipbuilding in Southampton. When the contract is over, they will have nothing left to build and go under. Few fishing vessels are being built because the French and Spanish have depleted the fish stocks on this side of the Atlantic and are now working on the western Atlantic. Japan almost has a monopoly on shipbuilding for the larger ships. Korea has grabbed a large share of the market as well. You can’t compete, but we can.

The First Sea Lord says, “We already know our problem. What is the solution?”

“I have a simple solution to solve all your problems, but you need to hear me out. You won’t like it, but by the time we are done, you will see why it is the only way.

“To start with, cancel your contract with Vosper Thornycroft. Cancelling the contract will cause Vosper Thornycroft to go bankrupt, so K&B will buy it and refurbish the yard to Japanese standards, turning the shipyard into a robotic yard. This will keep roughly half as many people employed. We will then build you a minesweeper at cost. I was thinking of something like this.”

I open up my briefcase and slide over a copy of the main plans for the MCDV.

“Yes, the ship is considerably bigger than what you are building now, but it is a lot more advanced. Let’s compare it to the Sandown-class, the boat you just ordered. As a minesweeper, our ship has a crew of 24. That is ten men less than the Sandown. You ordered 15 boats. That is 150 fewer sailors. The MCDV has a maximum speed of 30 knots as opposed to the 13 of a Sandown. Granted, it is more than 550 tons heavier. But even after completion, it has interchangeable modules. In roughly 27 and a half hours, an experienced crew can turn it from a sweeper to a missile boat. Or, you can leave the modules off and use it as a training boat. It has a drive system that can simulate that of a larger warship. As a training vessel, it has a crew of 18, but there are 47 bunks on board. Even as a missile ship or sweeper, there are still enough racks (naval term for beds) to use as a training ship. The other thing that is a major sell is that it will be your first-ever stealth boat.

RADM Jones asks, “What makes it stealth?”

“To start with, the plating is all angled to deflect radar waves away from the sending radar. But, when running in ultra-quiet state, it is as quiet as any submarine. It is a diesel-electric system but not quite like a submarine. The diesel has no way to turn the prop directly. It runs strictly on batteries. At a full charge, at 15 knots, batteries will last 21 hours. If you slow down to 5 knots for minesweeping, it is virtually immune to acoustic mines.

“And why would you sell them at cost,” asks Oswald

“We would be silly not to. The Vosper Thornycroft yard is only good for small ships, but we will expand. There is plenty of salt marsh in the area that we could develop into shipyards for larger ships. If there are any vacant yards in the area, we would be willing to buy them. The thing is, this gives us a foothold into the European market. With our technology, we can build ships better, faster and cheaper than any of the European competitors.”

RADM Taylor points out, “Then you will undercut our shipbuilders, putting them out of business.”

“That isn’t what we are doing here. Your shipbuilding industry is sunk. It is only a matter of time before each of your yards gives in. Given the amount of business we are going to drum up, we will likely buy each of your yards that packs it in. We will have a discounted price for UK customers, inspiring growth, while charging full price for most everybody else. Your shipbuilding industry will be bigger than in its heyday.”

We go on like that for hours. Admittedly it is mostly me talking, but that is because I didn’t give my people time to prepare. The Brits didn’t like the idea of Japanese ownership. I knew that was going to be a problem, which is why I brought in Brown’s DC and Brown’s Conglomerate. Coupled with the local companies, that is one-quarter ownership to K&B, meaning one-eighth Japanese ownership while giving us the Japanese technology. The only real change in my plan is the admiralty wants us to build other ships at cost. It is a bit high of a price, but Yanai San argued for them to give us maintenance contracts on all vessels we build.

As things are winding down, the Sea Lord asks, “Would you mind staying behind? There are still some things that I would like to ask you.”

“Sure. I just need to talk with my people for a minute first.”

Jacob and David say their goodbyes and head out before us.

Gun and I walk our people down to the main entrance. Once we are outside, I say, “Good job, everybody. Sorry about the short notice. Now you have an idea of what we are talking about. I expect you to take it from here.”

I really don’t care about the details. They know what I want, and I trust them to make it happen. We say our goodbyes. Then Gun and I head back up to the conference room, where the admiralty remains.

“You sure do have an interesting way of spilling state secrets,” comments Oswald.

“They weren’t that big of secrets or K&B wouldn’t be able to sell stealth ships. Mind you, the one we are selling you is the one I designed for the Canadian Navy.”

“Is that why they let you sell it?”

“No, as I said, it isn’t a big secret. We trust the Commonwealth, except India and Pakistan. With their squabbles, they are Commonwealth in name alone. With the dealings I have with Japan, I consider them Commonwealth too.”

“Can you say why they built a stealth fleet? Their ban on being able to enter a war zone is about to end. Does it have something to do with that?”

“Nothing so sinister. By the time the ban ends, these ships will be two thirds through their life. It would be silly to build now if that were their purpose.

“When the Warsaw Pact ends, there will be a power vacuum. Nobody can predict what will happen after that. Often somebody more belligerent fills the void. I was the one that suggested Japan hide the fleet and pretend to downsize. It is still their secret, so I can’t tell you exactly what they have or what they are building.

“That’s too bad.”

“Don’t give up so easily. In negotiations next week, you should ask about other ship designs. Getting a ship at cost is often cheaper than doing a mid-life refit. I’m sure you can find an excuse to ask for a bid to replace some of your older ships. We have some fairly good designs for destroyers, frigates, combat support ships, light aircraft carriers. Only it isn’t stealth. That would be too expensive. And we have a beautiful attack submarine which is a good 30 years ahead of its time.

All three of them laugh, and Taylor says, “So much for not giving away secrets. It does sound like quite a fleet, and we have had trouble with Japan in the past.”

“Don’t be silly, Admiral. Have they shown an inclination towards any sort of militaristic act? Their populous wants to disband the military. They need my ships to prepare for whatever is coming next and still be honest when they tell their people that they downsized.”

Jones comments, “I sure hope you are right. If your other ships are as impressive as this one, then it is one hell of a fleet.”

“They aren’t finished building it yet. I would also say that the carrier and the submarine are the only two more impressive than the MCDV. We are working on smaller fast attack craft. Mostly wing in ground effect craft like the Russian Lun-class. Canada has a lot of water to defend and only a handful of people to do it ... Speaking of WIG boats, you should be thankful Gorbachev got in power when he did. He cancelled many programs meant to enhance and enlarge their military. One of which was a WIG aircraft carrier. Imagine them having a carrier capable of 300 knots. Thankfully, it never got out of the design stage.”

I don’t tell him where I learnt that. There is no way he would acknowledge that such a thing as Wikipedia will ever exist, then there is the whole time travel thing.

By the time Gun and I get back to the hotel, it is nearly 6 pm, which is 2 am Victoria time. Since we didn’t get lunch, we order room service. After supper, we are too drained to do anything but go to bed.

In the morning, the first thing Gun asks is, “What are we doing today?”

“I want to do the tourist thing, but it really wouldn’t be right for me to ask my delegation to work all weekend and then not make myself available to them.”

And so, we spend the entire day at the hotel, Gun catching up on reading and me doing paperwork that I needed to catch up on. Jean-Paul and Nagamori San do call, but for the most part, they don’t need much help. There is a reason I went out of my way to find the people I did to run my companies.

Monday morning, we meet everybody at Northwood Headquarters again. We are shown to the same conference room where we meet up with everybody from the last meeting with a few more Brits in the mix.

Shaking the First Sea Lord’s hand, I say, “I hope you don’t mind me skipping out, but my people know what I want, and it is time for me to let them spread their wings to see how well they fly. I need to talk to the guys from MI5. And, there is no reason for them to be involved in these negotiations. Is there a room where we can talk in private?”

“Just take them across the hall.”

I make my rounds and introduce myself to everybody, ending with David and Jacob. After shaking their hands, I say, “There is no need for us here. The admiralty said we could use the room across the hall.”

We excuse ourselves, then make our way to the other room.

Jacob starts things off, “We have bad news for you. Your 4th cousins had a terrible crash in Manchester last night. They left behind a daughter, Lisa Foster, who is in hospital for her injuries sustained in the crash. The only family we can find are you, your mother and your uncle, Sam. Since your Uncle Sam is the only one capable of taking care of her, he will be contacted in a few days. Maybe you want to give him a heads up.”

I know it isn’t the sort of thing that Brits typically do, but I pull Jacob in for a hug. He is a bit stiff but doesn’t pull away. When I do, I say, “Thank you, gentlemen. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

David states, “It was more than worth seeing the look on The First Sea Lord’s face when you told him off yesterday morning. It was a bit childish, but I sure got a kick out of it.”

“David!!! You better not let anybody hear you say that, but it was fun, wasn’t it,” admonishes Jacob.

I admit, “It was a bit childish. I needed to knock him down a peg, or he would have kept his superiority complex, and I would never have been able to deal with him. I particularly liked how he apologized for our meeting running late and making my people wait.”

Jacob states, “That is the first time I ever heard of him apologizing.”

David interrupts, “You better get going. In MI5, we do our homework and figured you would want on the next flight after hearing the news, so we booked it for you. The admiralty informed us of the conversation you had after we left. We appreciate the intel and agree with you about the power vacuum. There is a lot of uncertainty in the future, and it will be nice to strengthen our friendship with Japan. Having an ally with a stealth fleet may come in handy.”

Jacob cuts him off, “Enough of that, Trent has to go. It was a pleasure meeting you. I just hope we stay on the same side of things.”

“I’m sure we will.”

Gun and I say our farewells and are off to the airport. By 10:30, we are in the air. When we land, it is early morning. Too early to visit Grace.

Once I am home, I head for Sam’s room and enter without knocking. I don’t want to wake Zlata. I put my hand on Sam’s shoulder and shake him. His eyes slowly open, and I whisper, “We need to talk.” I then leave, giving him time to wake up and meet me in the kitchen. He has to get up in two hours anyway, so I make him some coffee.

Entering the kitchen, he is rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Then he asks, “What is it?”

“My trip was more successful than I imagined. I hope you don’t mind, but you are going to have another ward.”

“How did this come about?”

“The Brits agreed to give Grace a new identity. The official story is that your third cousins, my fourth, had an accident, and their daughter survived. You and I are her only remaining relatives. The British government will contact you in a day or two, but she will not be coming until she is out of the hospital.”

“You’re going to have to give up your home office.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. The foyer is huge. Can I stick up a false wall and put our home office there?”

“Give me a few days to move things around.”

“Great, thanks.”

“So, does she come with a trust to help pay her expenses?”

“No, but I was thinking, since I am the world’s wealthiest child, I should start paying rent. How does that sound?”

He just shakes his head and pours himself a coffee. I head to bed. Nobody knows I am home, so I get a chance to catch up on my sleep.

It’s after 10 when I get up. I don’t bother to shower. Instead, I grab a quick bite, then jump on my bike and let my security follow. It has been a while since I have exercised, and I need to get back to it.

I arrive at Grace’s house and enter without knocking. Nobody is in the kitchen or living room, but I am not worried. I head straight for Grace’s room to discover she has three limbs in traction, one leg and both her arms. Dahlia is reading to her, and Jane sits there half asleep.

I’m pissed and let it be known, “After god knows what she has been through, we continue her torture by making her completely immobile for how long?”

Both Dahlia and Jane jump, not knowing I was there. Not one to control her emotions Dahlia says, “You’re one to talk. You dump her here and take off to England to do some business.”

Thankfully there is one level head in the room. Jane interrupts, “Calm down, you two. Trent didn’t have a choice. He had to leave. As for Grace, Dr. Willson said it was for the best. Did you want him to do it one limb at a time and have her spend the better part of a year in traction and pain because her other limbs weren’t taken care of.”

She exaggerates. Traction on a leg is a maximum of 6 weeks, and an arm is less than that. I get her point.

I pull Dahlia in for a hug and kiss her forehead. She asks, “How was the trip?”

“That is what I came here to talk about. Give me a sec. I’m going to grab a chair from the dining room so we can all sit by Grace while we talk.”

I moment later, I am sitting in a chair at the head of Grace’s bed with Dahlia sitting beside me, and Jane is on Grace’s other side. I bend down and kiss Grace on the cheek. She smiles but says nothing, so I apologize, “I’m sorry for starting an argument when I walked in. It isn’t something you need to hear while you are stressed out.” I look at Dahlia and slightly squeeze her hand in comfort, saying, “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”