William doesn't know the full details of such missions, but he knows the general terms and locations of the expeditions. Their importance is big, and so are the documents in the library.
There are only two such locations. One is the Canadian border further down the north, and the second is the Gulf of Mexico. One safe, the second being extremely close to South America. The latter makes sense to William that the dangers involved must be massive.
Yet, these missions had to be done for the basic premise of the oil. Fuel to use and facilitate the many kinds of machines that humanity needs no matter what. That is something that hasn't changed since the 21st century, and it sure is the same even now.
Though, the mission to the Gulf of Mexico happens only once a year. Such a mission is pulled off by the tanker that has enough internal capacity to fuel the entire needs of the Federation for 2 years in a single trip.
The rest of the oil is sold to other organizations in the world. Those are parts of the deals that are unknown to anyone but the leaders on Assembly island.
The pair of youth walked beside the part of the shipbuilding workshop named Irwin Joe Compay.
Knocking on the door to the entrance, Ellie awaits someone to appear. It is late for any customers, but she isn't one, to be exact.
In a minute, a rough-looking man shoves the door open and politely greets Ellie and William alike.
“Greetings. Greetings. Good night to both of you. We have the cruise ready, so you can await on the lower floor that way.” The man says while taking the tickets from Ellie and gesturing towards the inside.
On the lower floor, the entrance to the house reveals the massive hall, which has a partly open ceiling to the sky, while opening to the ocean down below. It is a long assembly of smaller docks like what William saw a bit before. Here, they are much smaller, and smaller boats are built in this place. It even has sections open to the ocean. One could build the boats and let them out into the ocean in a matter of moments.
“There you are, Ellie. Fabulous night, isn't it?” A middle-aged man in his mid-30s greets the pair with open arms, which awaits no one. He is a gentleman with an average build while being very enthusiastic about caring about the boats.
“No hug?” he asks with open arms and a saddened look.
“No hug, uncle Haggard,” Ellie says with a smile on her face.
“How brutal. Here you go, taking care of your uncle in such a manner? This is saddening.” Haggard says in fake sadness that her niece is forcing upon him.
It seems it runs in the family.
“Who do we have here?” Haggard glances at William, who is yet to put down his brand new hat on top of his head.
“G-greetings, sir. My name is William Gale. A friend of Ellie.”
“Greetings to you, William. I am Haggard, a humble boat maker while being a brother of her father, if that makes sense.”
“Don't spout nonsense, uncle. You know why I am here.”
“Of course. A ride to the Assembly is fine at this hour, and I've got permission for today as well, so not a big deal to make it cozy and nice. There is no wind and waves at all, so it's gonna be nice.” Haggard explains by the suggestion of Ellie, and her purchase of his services.
“Like a calm before the storm,” William mumbles the quote he read on the 3rd floor of the library.
“I don't know about that, boy. The ocean is a never-ending place of marvels and uncertainty. Even I have no idea what sort of weather would change tomorrow. All I can do is try that today's gonna be nice as it is.”
“Again uncle...” Ellie glances at Haggard, who is talking utter crap. He is quite chatty, with almost nothing meaningful to say. William knew someone like that, who have perhaps the same age as this man.
“Right. Let me show you the boat. I have prepared everything.” Haggard scratches his blond and luscious long hair and led the pair towards this long stretch of a hall. He stops way back before a nice long boat. It has a seating area that is covered by a curved roof over its design. It looks quite speedy and luxurious. The curvature of the wooden design isn't something William has ever seen.
“It is a speedy one, but I won't travel too fast this time. It will be a cozy journey for today.” Haggard says with a proud attitude while looking at his masterpiece.
It has two motors, with the distinct curve of the boat's ship, that would cleave the waves apart.
This is the work that he put 1 year of his life into.
“Looks good, uncle. Let's go, Will.” Ellie grabs William's hands and forces him on the deck, which is enough for dozens of people. She did not want to wait any longer. She could imagine William asking Haggard some questions about this boat or his work. Hours would be gone like that and she doesn't have time for that, nor patience.
It is quite larger there than one would guess. About 20 feet long boat is impressive in itself. There is a stretch of rails and one could walk around the whole stretch of the roofed deck. In the front, there are even chairs and quite a space with no obscuration of the roofed deck.
Watching his niece, Haggard already got a hunch of what is this about. Smirking behind their back, he would surely do a great job tonight.
Entering the deck, Haggard let the securing knob of a robust rope away. which lets the boat float out of his little half-roofed hall
“Let's go then. Take a seat, kids.” Haggard laughed and assumes the position of captain of his boat. There is a section for such a position in the front middle position of the roofed deck. Screens, buttons, and steering wheel is there to ride this boat.
In the middle is a wide and tall window, with a clear vision of the front of the boat. Although the roofed deck acts as a single room, one could still be very comfortable here. Out of weather elements or waves alike, the sofa and widows make this quite a good ride.
There are even windows on the roof and walls on the left and right. One could see everything in the security and comfort of the soft sofa.
Haggard charges forth after lighting the engines on. A speedy start jolts William a bit since he didn't expect this one to be so speedy.
Haggard laughter echoed on, while William unwillingly grabbed Ellie in a hurry. She chuckles, as she shoves him to the sofa before falling over the sudden move.
In a few minutes, the boat travels at lower speeds of oceanic view.
Humming an unknown song out loud, Haggard is enjoying his own time, which doesn't come very often. As a boat maker, the joy of riding his creations is rarer and rarer. With contracts up in these times, he has plenty of work on his own.
“Alright, kids. We have about 10 minutes of leisure time to reach the proximity of the Assemble Island.” Haggard shouts in a clear voice.
It fell to a deaf ear, as both of the passengers are already out of the roofed deck, to see the scenery out in the ocean. Even the sight of the Central island is quite nice, and William is curious about everything. A small gust of wind from moving the ship is not one bit annoying.
On the other hand, this gust of wind troubles Ellie, who, even with shorter hair, has trouble getting it out of her face.
Seeing her like this, William got a hunch about giving her's gift to her.
Before she is aware of it, a hat is placed on her head. It secures her hair from getting to her face.
“T-thank you.”
“I would find this annoying, but a girl loves her hair. Am I right?” Wiliam says in a thoughtful manner.
That in itself left Ellie quite speechless and even a gaping mouth.
Though, her expression is not seen by William, who instead focuses on many important things around him.
There, he sees Assembly Island from the distance, which is one of a kind place.
Build on top of cliffs of a few square miles, buildings, or to be more specific, a fortress is built on the very top.
It has no distinct features like dozens of towers or curves that facilitate nothing. It has a normal design with the kind of buildings that could be found in the Federation.
Yet, it has one specialty, which is quite marvelous, and it is very obvious when the boat approaches the first mile. Those buildings are almost unnoticeably glued together in a seamless fashion. As if they were not built there at all. They are also quite large, while some are even bigger than the Grand Library of the Federation. In fact, there are multiple buildings with similar height and mass as that one on this cliff.
After all, who in their right mind would build a headquarters in the middle of an inaccessible cliff? Only a madman, or a complete idiot.
Those are the Walkers, and the ideas of the many... strange preferences that put this fortress in this place. Whatever reason they had at that time, the building of this place underwent many iterations, before powerful Walkers placed the buildings on top of these cliffs.
It was probably interesting, or the reason was quite simple. Could it be because they wanted to see the fortress by a cliff? Could be true, but that makes William even more impressed.
“Pretty nice, isn't it? It is hardly something seen in the Federation. This place has been built only by the Walkers. I heard they lifted some special buildings and made whatever they desired in spots on this cliff. I have no clue how secured they are, but that is not up for me to see, or understand.” Ellie shouts so she could be heard. Wind and even the moving water let the voice travel less than one would imagine.
William nods and decides to change location to the open front deck.
“I like this,” he mumbles, as he could hardly remember the last time he traveled on the boat.
It has been years, and it for sure, wasn't a boat like this, but some wreck of a rough wooden boat with nothing but paddles.
Minutes go, and Ellie has no chance to do anything. She is even unsure if it's the right time for anything. There is hardly a way to make herself clear to William at all. It is almost like a psychological block she has, which makes this whole situation that much annoying for her.
It is like a treasure hunter seeking treasure. The process is exciting and marvelous. Yet, when one finds it, things afterward could either lead to disappointment. By a lack of marvels afterward, or the effects of the end of the journey.
She doesn't know William's feelings, but she sure knows her own.
Engines stop at last, and the currents of the waves leave the boat dangling around the waters. These aren't the calmest waters in the surroundings of this cliff. No matter what the wheater is, the current and water splashing around its proximity make it not as safe. Barely a few hundred feet before the cliff is safe. This is the precise location where Haggard stops the boat's motor.
“Alright, we have 10 minutes of the marvels, kids,” Haggard states, but to his abysmal, he doesn't need to say much at all.
The pair is already looking up on the front open deck, and William is even making quick sketches in his notebook.
Ellie stands beside him while telling a few quotes and interesting facts she knows about this place.
Minutes follow until shouts of Haggard left the pair to look away from the Assembly Island.
“Freaking sea god, there is a dead person.” Haggard points to the distance, where the bare body of someone drifts on the waves.