The Great Trans-Sahara-Nile Highway

֍ 4th April 2008 ֍

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"Marc… are you serious we have to be out here even longer…?"

"*Sigh* You need to relax, René…

Your tour has only started as a Peacekeeper, and honestly think it through René.

Do you think we will be asked to leave anytime soon?

What did you think we did as Peacekeepers?

*Sigh* I swear those guys in New York, Vienna and Nairobi have no clue what the hell is happening here."

Two U.N Peacekeepers on the border of Niger and Burkina Faso, two nations embroiled in civil war and unrest were standing by their post, dealing with the soaring heat of the sun.

They hadn't seen any action in the last few weeks since being posted at the particular site without any real connection to the outside world besides the Intranet utilised by the Peacekeepers.

Both of them were French nationals and former soldiers of the French National Army but whereas Marc had served in the Middle East and faced combat, René on the other hand worked in logistics.

Only later on did he finally get the chance for some action on the front lines but right before that happened, he left to join the U.N Peacekeepers.

They offered him a better wage and benefits for his family that helped them all settle in the United States of America after his time finished in Africa but after he arrived, he quickly found the job to be far from what he expected.

Most days passed with him, and Marc stuck at the outpost in the middle of the two nations with a small team.

They often saw wild animals but never came across tribes or any warlords that were trying to expand their territory.

However today happened to be a different situation.

Marc noticed a trail of dirt in the distance flying up into the atmosphere, but it wasn't just dirt flying up from the ground but also the helicopters in the air that made the dust storm larger.

Just as Marc was about to tell René to call the others in the outpost, their radio frequency found someone else speaking to them that wasn't from their Headquarters but knew their codesigns that they had enough authority to say something.

"Peacekeepers!

We are known as the Phantom Security Services who've been employed by the United Nations to help deal with the chaotic situation in the area.

An envoy vehicle with information pertaining to the cooperation between the United Nations and Phantom Security Services, so we can operate together in the region."

The Peacekeepers understood at this point that they needed to be ready for both the good and the bad at any moment.

It wasn't long before they saw the modified off-roading military vehicle that had a flag of the U.N on the left front of the hood and one with the Phantom Security Services logo on a background.

"Marc Toussaint?!" shouted the man who exited the vehicle with a clipboard in his hand and black aviators on.

With a tanned skin tone and a cheeky smile, the man was ready to call out the name again but thankfully the man stepped forward.

"That's me, Sir." Marc said as he stepped forward with a pleasant smile on his face to reciprocate the friendly behaviour from the Phantom Security Services officer.

"Hello, Marc Toussaint.

I'm Vishal from the Phantom Security Services.

From now on, your team of 30 fill be under my leadership.

Our agency will be setting up a base here within a short few days and also increasing our operations within both nations.

Your cooperation will be grateful and helpful for our expansion into the region, including contacts, locations, agents or anything useful." Vishal said, a former M.I.6 Agent that was recruited by Anton and now a Captain within the Phantom Security Services.

Originally Vishal wanted to head a team into battle, but it didn't work out when Kane directed him to lead a large unit instead and start development of a border city between Niger and Burkina Faso.

Archie and Rosie both agreed that the site had to be near Bossé Bangou since the city could take up a significant amount of land and create another highway between the two nations and the future.

The city would be established on a highway that would stretch across all the nations in the Phantom Security Services control.

Ghana was another country the Phantom Security Services already started work on from establishing a port town that was expanding quickly into a city.

Between Axim and Takoradi, the Great Trans-Sahara-Nile Highway would go through Burkina Faso before splitting to head towards Mali and Niger.

The Mali Highway part of the Great Trans-Sahara-Nile Highway would go through Mauritania and lead into Western Sahara, while the Niger part of the Highway would go through to Chad and Sudan.

Because the Highway also needed to reach Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, and Nigeria, it had to splinter off several times to create branches of the main Great Trans-Sahara-Nile Highway

The Phantom Security Services teams believed they could stretch the highway through the Congo onto Zambia, Zimbabwe before finishing in Mozambique, but it depended on the teams and the local resistance.

Echo thought about establishing a council that controlled and managed the Great Trans-Sahara-Nile Highway, which could introduce other nations of Africa and expand its branches.

This led to the Phantom Security Service teams becoming more boisterous and ruthless in battle, quickly leading to great stability across the continent in most regions.

South African happened to be the hardest country to infiltrate and sweep through for the Phantom Security Services because of the large resistance put up by certain underworld figures and mercenaries.

The news had finally reached many areas across Africa that the Phantom Security Services were bad news, leading to the underworld markets trying to hide themselves but unfortunately for them they didn't have a person like Carter helping them out.

By the end of the 4th of April 2008, half of South Africa lost to the might of the Phantom Security Services while the other half tried to draw more people to their pointless cause.

When people saw those who had terrorised them for years perish to get arrested, most people celebrated once they saw the help.

Previous times when other nations had forced themselves into Africa, they created large cultural issues and problems that still caused issues decades later.

The Phantom Security Services were trying to help such a difficult problem, but it wasn't something that could be done overnight.

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"Old friend!!

Another round!" Viktor screamed with his necktie dangling around his forehead and drooping down for his mouth.

Esmond couldn't help but laugh as he watched Viktor make a fool of himself in the private room they enjoyed with Ivan.

The three continued to drink after Esmond finished his business talks with Ivan who wanted to be armed with the latest assault rifles Esmond could produce.

They weren't going to be provided with the MAR-01 or any of the newer rifle models, but Esmond had already asked Sam and David to produce some basic assault rifles.

Esmond asked his scientists to make sure they didn't go overboard or anything revolutionary but rather use the technology currently available on Earth.

As a leader, Esmond hoped to inspire his people in new and creative ways, especially with the Spatial Ark Star World supporting them, but he never expected the scientists to make it a huge event.

Arcia Untroliv, an Xlartanian scientist decided to create an event to gather all the creative minds from the Institute and surrounding educational infrastructures, quickly setting the parameters of the game and using the Virtual World to help with simulation.

While Esmond tried to get drunk on vodka that wasn't produced with Spiritual Essence infused, the scientists and students pushed the boundary of what could be achieved with human technology and their imaginative minds.

A team of students that consisted of Zadrisian, G.A.E Human, Veveliaan, Xoplis and Us'Theraei named Thina, created a hybrid of the ACR made by Remington Arms Bushmaster and a SCAR from FN Herstal.

The lightweight frame of the assault rifle was strengthened enough to reduce kickback of the assault rifle and a shockingly high accuracy.

They had listened to a lecturer of theirs and decided to add a modular aspect to the rifle so it could grow and expand depending on its requirements.

Funnily enough, it still couldn't compare with the weapons used by the Phantom Security Services even with their side arm modern rifles to use in front of the allied humans.

Esmond was quite open with his tasks and let the people know what their work was going towards.

When they understood it was to help Ukraine at a specific time, many professors, teachers and mentors decided that it was best for the students to fight this out.

The final choice would be refined before being handed over to the Lord, but since it wouldn't be one winner as Esmond wanted multiple choices, people were further riled up that their work could be acknowledged.

One of the teams that surprised many professors and scientists was Stexos.

They comprised of 2 humans who were children that'd come to the Spatial Ark Star World through the cargo ships that entered the Space a while back.

Both of them, a boy and girl, had lived a life with warfare all around them that it made them dull for a time.

Only after they entered the Space that they finally realised life wasn't supposed to be like that, but they quickly learnt from their multi-species classmates that life in the stars wasn't better either.

Having understood the dark truth much like a majority of students in the Space, they all worked to improve themselves, their new home and those around them.

The Stexos team was a great example of this when a Yautja joined them and an alien member from the Starfleet Cadet Force.

The last piece of the puzzle was the Kaminoan team member who learnt a great deal about the Clone Army equipment.

The three alien species, especially the Starfleet El-Aurian, who helped harmonise the group cooperation to create a unique firearm with an alien cosmetic.

Honestly, the scientists, professors and teachers all loved it because it still fired rifle cartridges instead of using Plasma Energy or Lasers, but they did add a small LED lighting fixture to give it a colourable glow.

No one dared to say the team had gone against the parameters of the event, but it was quite obvious once they added the lights since it could be hacked or messed with by enemy forces.

Seeing this the judges still kept the design and let the team continue since someone would surely buy it for hits futuristic appearance, even for the Space.

The uniform parts of the rifle fitted well with the crazy and creative rifle framework.

In the end, the scientists hoped the rational students and teams would prevail and achieve something truly different.

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Elsewhere in the Space, three people were heavily drinking at a peak of a mountain that was reserved for those closest to Esmond to relax at.

They were exhausted mentally and physically from everything they'd come across within the Spatial Ark Star World.

Layla couldn't stop smoking some weed to help ease the tense on her mind with a cocktail that felt like her 10th drink.

Amelia similarly smashed through several pints of fruity beer with some fries and chicken wings.

May ate some of her favourite street food from home that the Androids easily recreated without any problem, but with the amount of alcohol in her body, she long forgot the true flavour of the dish.

"What… kind… of… fucking shit… is Esmond involved in…?" Amelia swayed in her seat side to side, not knowing if she should hate Esmond for not telling her earlier.

Igdra didn't help either and was a serious confidence blow to all of the girls, especially May who always felt her ancestry put her above others in the world.

"I… hate… this…" May broken down and sobbed quietly at the table while overlooking the breath-taking scenery of the mountain ranges.

"*Sigh* Stop with the misery and heartbreak.

Esmond hasn't said anything to stop our relationship with him.

Not just that, Igdra… the World Tree Spirit… or whatever wants to help us… get stronger to support Esmond.

Does any of that sound bad?" Layla hated to sound like the voice of reason, but she could tell everyone overacted to the situation.

The focus should be on the majesty and magnificence of the Spatial Ark Star World, but Amelia and May were focusing too much on Igdra.

Layla couldn't help it either and felt self-conscious about her appearance, but she figured that had to do something with Igdra being a World Tree Spirit.

Earlier when they were all at the cabin, Igdra suggested taking the girls to bath in the Universal Sentient Lifeform Essence Spring to help transform their bodies and cells, but Scarlett held off taking such a huge step without Esmond present.

Though Scarlett left to tell the others and warned Igdra not to do anything or go anywhere, she sent the three girls to relax in the mountain Mansion until they made up their own mind.

If they wanted to bathe in the Universal Essence Spring, Igdra guaranteed they would also evolve into greater variations of humanity, but only Layla heard her since the other two girls were lost in their other rampant thoughts.

"Listen to me…

Let's take a dip in the Spring thing Igdra mentioned, after which we can start thinking about our position beside Esmond.

Remember, if we can offer anything but rely on him, we will become a burden.

As much I don't like to think about it, we would be screwed and unable to help him enough to learn about this place.

Igdra helped stop that from happening and gave us an opportunity to catch up to him, instead of becoming an afterthought."

Amelia and May both looked at Layla like she'd saved them from losing all hope.

Having made the decision in their mind, the girls called for Igdra who appeared in a flash, only to whisk the three girls away to the roots of her World Tree.

'You better thank me later my love…' Igdra coquettishly thought as Amelia, May and Layla entered the starlight golden waters of the Universal Sentient Lifeform Essence Spring.

Empowered by the Spatial Ark Star World and the full strength of the World Tree that continued to enhance as it consumed the Universal Sentient Lifeform Essence Spring.

Igdra watched over the three girls and walked them into the Universal Sentient Lifeform Essence Spring that started metamorphosis the second they dipped their toes into the water.

Using the strength of her roots to help the girls feel no pain, Igdra wrapped the girls in a cocoon with slits to allow the water to enter.

The roots charged together to help process the body cells and DNA evolution while transferring the pain to Esmond since Igdra didn't want to harm anyone in the Space.

In the club at Kiev, Esmond had to spawn several bottles under the table to help him deal with the sudden surge of pain.

He screamed at Carter to find an answer, while he controlled his body to stumble enough to seem drunk even though he only just started drinking Spiritual Essence infused Alcohol.

Viktor and Ivan couldn't help but laugh at Esmond before trying to help him up onto the couch.

Just then Esmond received word from Carter who checked to see what caused the sudden surge of pain, but the answer left him miserable, furious, and utterly exhausted.

All at once.

"Igdra went rogue… and like invited your three empresses to check out the hood…

Now… she's got them taking a dip in the Universal Essence Spring and going through some overpowered metamorphosis shit… *Sigh* You can deal with her yourself, Esy."

Carter couldn't be bothered fighting Igdra when he knew it was a losing matter.

He loved her dearly actually just from the amount of help she provided to production and produce.

Harvesting required machinery for the large part but with Dryads, Fairies, Elves and Dwarves around, everything improved several folds.

Carter already saw several hundred tons of produce reach maturity and be harvested by the species created by Igdra and the World Tree.

They also helped improved the speed of manufacturing and production once they finished their orientation to learn about the technology present within the Spatial Ark Star World.

But she went too far this time.

Carter couldn't even help but feel worried for Esmond, but the man in question had already started drowning him several in weed and alcohol from the Space.

Finally able to feel some sort of sensation, Esmond started to relax while Viktor and Ivan found themselves knocked out cold by the purity of the drinks and weed.