The Island

[The FSM]

[b]Private Letterhead of the Steward of Sicily[/b]

Dear Alexei,
I hope this letter finds you well, unfortunately matters of state have kept me from speaking to you in person of late. I have decided that I agree with what you proposed at our last meeting, sufficient private space is necessary for us to properly see our plans are carried out. I have ordered that the island of Ustica, off the coast of Sicily, be transferred to your ownership. You will be free to do with the island as you please, the years have left the island uninhabited so there will be no problems to development. As always, keep in touch, I am eager to hear of your progress. Depending on my schedule, I will try to meet with you personally in the next few weeks. In the meantime I bid you godspeed.

Your cousin,
Jean

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[b]SNBS- YOUR NEWS, YOUR WORLD, YOUR WAY[/b]

The Sicilian Directorate for National Affairs announced today that the Sicilian Government has completed negotiations with SNBS parent AI Corp. over the lease of the Island of Ustica. While details of the lease are not yet available a Directorate spokeswoman indicated that the lease gave AI Corp. authority over the entirety of the uninhabited island and would last for 99 years with the option for extension at the end of the term. A spokesman from AI Corp could not be reached to answer questions about what the corporation intends to do with the island.

Edited June 11, 2010 by The Flying Scotsman

[The FSM]

[b]Private Island of Ustica, North of Sicily[/b]

[i]The island was a hive of activity, hundreds of workers toiled under the burning Meditteranean sun. There was little in the way of natural shade for the men and women at work, the already sparse island had been cleared of most of its vegetation two weeks ago in preparation for the start of actual construction. Alexei Illyushkin and Jean d'Aosta stood under a canopy on a small rise overlooking the first construction site. The lead engineers and designers of the project were in the process of briefing them on the project's progress.[/i]

"Phase One of the Ustica Island Complex Project involves the construction of a small port facility on the East side of the island. the small natural harbor there will be expanded and dredged to accommodate larger container ships that will be carrying over the majority of the materials for the remainder of the UIC Project. When its finished the Port will be able to accommodate two mid-sized container vessels and up to five smaller craft simultaneously. The port facilities will also include equipment to load and unload the container vessels as well as a small warehouse and associated outbuildings." Alexei interrupted the engineer briefly," when do you anticipate Phase One will be finished?"
"While the difficulty in transporting supplies has slowed work down I anticipate we will finish on schedule in three weeks time. Once Phase One is finished, if the work crews are able to maintain their current pace I anticipate we will be able to shave three to four weeks off the total UICP completion time. Phase Two involves constructing the basic transportation infrastructure called for in the UICP. Essentially this consists of a four lane ring road running along the coast that will begin and end at the Eastern Port and will eventually be connected by small secondary roads to the other UIC Facilities. Phase Two will also see work start on the small heliport facility on the North side of the Island. The UIC Heliport will have three helipads and hangar space to accommodate up to six large helicopters and will have dedicated storage space for fuel and repairs. During Phase Two work will also begin on boring out the central hill in preparation for future Phases of the UICP."

As the engineers finished their report and set about packing up the diagram they had put together for their visitors, Alexei and Jean walked off towards the central hill. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, Alexei wandered over to a nearby ledge and sat, facing the construction crews off aways to the East. "Thank you for this, Jean." After a few moments of silence Jean turned and took a seat on the ledge next to Alexei, "No need to thank me, I know how important a secure location is to completing our work. I thought this Island would fit the bill."

"It fits what I need perfectly," Alexei started, "AI needs a central, secure, location for its Headquarters. Ustica is just that, once construction is finished a year and a half from now this place is going to be nearly self-contained and self-sufficient. Just the place I need to go about restoring the family's place." The two men sat for a moment, watching silently as a stiff gust off the Med blew over the tent the had been standing in a few moments ago.

"How is the Phoenix Project going Alexei?" "Its going, its going. The team I have assigned to it has narrowed the possible sites where we might find what we're looking for. I was initially concerned that the Civil War in Slavorussia might get in the way but all information I have indicates that the objects were buried in the forests South of Murmansk. Which, by virtue of being under Norwegian control, have been relatively untouched by the Civil War.""Thats certainly good news, didnt you tell me there was something in Alaska as well?""Indeed, after the Kingdom collapsed decades ago records never really showed what our grandfather did with the crown. My team believes it is still somewhere in the ruins of the old Palace in Port Haven/Anchorage. Which may or may not have been affected by the fighting that went on around Anchorage. Even getting people in there to look around is difficult since that conflict and who owns that area still hasnt been entirely resolved yet."

Jean stared out at the horizon when Alexei mentioned the fighting around Anchorage. From what his father had told him, the city had been a wonderful place when he was a child. Jean had hoped to visit the ruins of his grandfather's palace there, but the Tahoe Conflict made that an impossibility, and chances were that beautiful city his father knew was now long gone, turned into a pile of rubble.

"I see, your people are doing good work Alexei. I feel like we are finally coming close." "Soon, cousin, soon. Soon we will be ready to move."

[The FSM]

[b]Private Island of Ustica, North of Sicily[/b]

Alexei leaned on broad black granite wall that edged the small stone patio as he surveyed the changes that had been wrought to the island. Major construction work was now finished, crews were putting the finishing touches on electrical and lighting in some areas, but the facilities were now fully furnished and corporate staff were well into the process of moving in. In the distance was the now fully functioning heliport, busily transporting staff between the island and Sicily. On the other end of the island, a small yet bustling seaport had been constructed and it too was busy ferrying staff and supplies to the island.

While all the islands energy needs were provided by a number of solar arrays strategically located around the island, food and most of the water had to be imported from Sicily. The island had a 600 person staff living on the island for sixth month shifts, tasked primarily with security, maintenance and servicing the island's facilities. They were all housed in a residential and recreational complex on the island's Northern plain. Neatly arranged ten story apartments sat in between spacious gardens and parks. The community was complete with swimming and athletic facilities, tennis courts, and a movie theater.

He stood 240ft above the calm seas of the Mediterranean, atop the highest peak of the now cavernous Isola Ustica. Where he stood now was a small stone patio, which was accessed from a dark, tinted glass dome. Alexei stepped back from the wall and opened the sliding glass door to the spacious interior of the dome. Inside the dome, the majority of the space was taken up by a circular table made of black marble, large enough to fit up to twenty-five people. The center of the room was home to a 3-D Holographic projection system, positioned to be easily viewable by everyone at the table.

At one end of the dome was a small elevator, designed to blend seamlessly with the floor around it, distinguishable only by the small panel used to operate it. It led down in to the main complex on the island. A series of catacombs, tunnels, and rooms connected to various small outcroppings such as the dome which dotted Ustica's little mountain.