Chapter 107 - Group Project

"… They would… far exceed all forces of the Astrok Empire… that I am certain of…" Esmond couldn't believe the strength of the Third Generation Clones would stand against all foes without a struggle.

Everyone unanimously felt the Powered Suits were too chunky, even if they heavily protected the wearer, the scientists felt they could be vastly improved with all of the technologies offered in the space.

Janet, Sam, and David were trying to explain all of the improved aspects of the Third-Generation Clones which could survive for greater lengths in outer space.

With the changes made to their lungs, it was possible to survive on Mars without a need for a helmet that needed to regulate oxygen for up to an hour, if not more.

That piece of news was ideal for Esmond and his forces as one of the problems that bothered him was the possibility of immediate death in outer space.

As long as the person could survive in outer space for a certain time until help arrived, it just meant the number of casualties would be reduced tremendously.

Esmond waited around for a while before leaving with Carter after the Craftworld ship was summoned in an open section of the Spatial Ark Star World.

They were planning on staying at the institute for longer to join in on the discussion happening but there was much to do and little time for Esmond.

When they arrived before the massive spacecraft known as the Ze'Quasa, Esmonds mind somehow gain all the necessary information pertaining to the ship and what it was made from.

"Wraithbone…"

"Ayy… that's what it's made out of…

Actually, there are even those Spirit Stones you were awarded by the system…

However, I wasn't expecting them to be used in this absurd method." Carter found the Spirit Stones or otherwise known as Waystones to be quiet the dangerous item that was being utilised wrong.

Thankfully the Spatial Ark Star World and its magical powers had resolved part of the issue that bothered Carter about the Waystones plus the Wraithbone material also seemed to find itself part of the large list of materials recognised by the Spatial Ark Star World.

For now, Carter and Esmond toured around the empty Craftworld ship which seemed weird without the Asuryani people inhabiting it.

Esmond asked Carter to get started on breaking down the powers of the Craftworld while also seeing what could be done with the Spirit Stones.

From what they could see within the Ze'Quasa Craftworld, the place was focused on Psyscience and technology advancements.

Utterly done in by the level of sophistication within the Craftsworld that could build cities within the interior of the ships.

The technology came down to the how the Wraithbone could be shaped and created by the powerful Asuryani that are capable of manipulating the tough material.

Esmonds mind instantly saw the material as a counter composite of Ogryx however the attributes of the materials seemed wildly similar.

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Leaving the spacecraft to Carter, Esmond went home and decided to rest before his following day which would see him busy with the Zathra Motors and Manston Engines which would be taking over a part of Adelaide in the outer skirts.

Just after Port Gawler on the out skirts of Adelaide City, Esmond has company had finalised the purchase on the land that would soon turn into small suburb city.

Leading up from the area known as Middle Beach, and down to Inkerman, Primal Management had bought up a great deal of land that would be going through major development.

Because the city council could be bypassed for certain regulations and the smaller councils in the towns were easier to deal with, the staff of Primal Management had quickly received all of the approvals needed to build a small suburb city which would eventually connect with the greater vision for Adelaide.

The difference was the small-town city would revolve around the Zathra Motors and Manston Engines that would build the place mainly for their workers but also others who wished to buy a piece of the developed land.

Of course, other areas within Adelaide like the Holden car manufacturing facility in Elizabeth was in the process of being bought by Primal Management but the company that owned Holden, General Motors, were playing hard ball.

Eddie already knew General Motors was going through tough times and had already started considering closing the factory anyway, therefore he wanted to get in on the property as soon as possible.

Fixing up a pre-existing building was much easier than building something from scratch especially if it was going to make people question how the structures could even be built.

Another area Esmond was developing was Sleaford, which was near Port Lincoln, a small city that was roughly 650 km away.

Esmond was planning to create a completely new city which would include a new Port and also a racetrack that would be used for developing the vehicles and engines of the two companies.

Certain government approvals had to be made, but it was certainly going to be approved in Esmonds opinion since it had become obvious to state and nation would go through various issues while dealing with the market crash in the coming months.

Crashing for the night, Esmond felt asleep quiet easily from the exhaustion his body felt, but as he slept peacefully, another person was having a difficult time trying to get some sleep all because of Esmonds nonchalant actions.

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֍ Bali, Indonesia ֍

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"… I can't find anything, Karl…" Mark, the former Korps Commandotroepen member of the Royal Netherlands Army, had given it his all trying to find the large number of commandos from various Special Forces all over the world.

He had been all over Thailand, trying to track down the large group of special forces however it was all for nought since none of his leads brought actional intel.

Everything told him that the people were taken away, however he couldn't prove anything.

Even the last destination that he puzzled together seemed to be a Villa resort which had the people on record, but the information simply said that they had all checkout and left.

After that it seemed as if the entire group of several hundred people had disappeared into thin air.

This question left Mark to wander aimelessly around Thailand until he gave up and flew over to Indonesia to rest and reset after his failure to not get anyone.

"*Sigh*… don't worry… I've got another mission for you instead.

How do you feel about joining a mercenary team out in the deep jungles of Africa?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"None…"

"… Great…

Why don't you just fuck me in the ass some more than you already are, Karl…"

Mark wanted to leave and head back to his quiet life that had nothing to do with Karl or the people he worked for, but he had no choice.

Ending the call with Karl, the lonely Mark paid for his meal and got up to leave when his phone started to ring once again.

He didn't expect it to be Karl since it would be highly unprofessional for him to call back just to pass along a message which was forgotten earlier.

Taking his time, Mark picked up the call once he decided to listen to the other side of the call.

"Hello, may I ask if this is Mark Hoentjen?" a soothing but firm female voice came through the microphone, making Mark wonder who about the beauty who matched with the voice.

"This is Mark speaking… how may I help you?"

"Sir… I'm calling on behalf of an organisation…

May I ask you… have you ever heard of the Templar Order of Old…?"

..

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"This is absurd…

How are we supposed to complete this project?!"

Lachlan, a class, and group member of Esmond that got paired into a team with May and Amelia also included.

There was another person named part of the team called Gina who happened to be a friend of Lachlans sister.

She seemed fairly enthusiastic about the group project while Lachlan wanted nothing more but to scream.

The project required them to create an event within the city of Adelaide and explain the costs to a committee, which would be the class and the professor.

While simple, the perimeters of the marking matrix were quite strict for the likes of Lachlan who found it difficult to understand.

"Esmond, do you have any thoughts on a project?" Amelia had her own thoughts about what to do for the project, but it required a great deal of time and effort to pull off, even if it would only be theoretically.

"Hmm… how about a car show over a weekend which includes racing events like the V8 Supercar event in Adelaide, but I wouldn't put it past the weekend to also include a culinary event."

Esmond wanted to utilise the vast space around Adelaide and wanted to have people spread out across the entire city.

"Mm… its too much.

You might get a large number of people visiting but if the city infrastructure can't handle it, the event weekend will end up as a failure."

May thought about the external factor as a shareholder and ended up thinking about herself visiting the city with Esmond for the weekend, only to be stuck travelling through the heavy traffic and poorly made roads.

The whole group approved of Mays point of view and keen sense to the broader details that they all missed.

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The group continued to brainstorm together in their class until it ended, and they all split up for the day.

They planned to catch up in the following week, but Esmond already decided to get underway with the projects design.

Esmond already knew it was possible to finish the simple project over the weekend, if not in a single night but it had to be done with the rest of the team so he thought about the different events their group could do.

He was about to head home with the girls when a call came from his uncle James asking for him to come by the office.

Heading straight over from the university, Esmond brought the girls along so they could get an idea about the business operations.

Entering the main lobby of the building, Amelia and May were taken aback by the beauty of the interior design as well as the atmosphere seemed clean and tension free.

Layla was about to lead Esmond up to James's office when she was interrupted by Corey, her annoying stalker.

"Hey Layla!

Where have you been? I was wondering why you didn't come into the office so often anymore.

Who's this…?" Corey gave Esmond a cold look when he noticed the other girls that were near him and how they were acting very friendly with Layla.

Believing it to be the perfect moment, Layla wanted to introduce Esmond as the owner of the business, however Amelia and May had their own thoughts on the matter and spoke up before her.

"I'm here to see my father James Trudell" said Amelia while closely glaring at Corey.

"And I'm here to see my uncle, James Trudell with my friend Amelia Trudell…" Mays sharp eyes felt like sharp daggers were piercing Coreys body at once.

Esmond remained silent out of the group, as Layla continued to lead him to the elevator,

"I'll take you straight to his office, Esmond.

Really, it should have been yours…" Lay la giggled while leading the group over to the elevators, with her voice loud enough for Corey to pick up on.

He was left wondering who Esmond could be for Layla to say James's office should in fact be his.

Corey was prepared to do some snooping on the people that came with Layla and was going to call his private investigator, completely unaware that he was monitored the second he challenged Esmond within his own building.