It was the beginning of a new day for Christine Mills. Today she was to make history and become the first female President of Australia. The fact was, Australia was now a republic. Twelve months ago, the Australian government held a referendum to see whether Australia should remove itself from the British Commonwealth and adopt a President as its head of state. The referendum was successful, and Australia finally became a republic. The government decided to adopt a parliamentary republic system, where the President was the head of state, and the Prime Minister was the head of government; the position of president was purely a ceremonial figurehead, but it did retain the same executive powers as that of the Governor-General of Australia. The President had the power to appoint remove the prime minister, or any other minister. The President was also able to appoint ambassadors, as well as state Governors or Premiers upon their election. The President was directly appointed by the parliament under the advice from the Prime Minister of Australia. He or she would then serve a five-year term in office. For the past twelve months, the Australian government had been working hard to change its Constitution, as well as severing ties to the British Royal family.
It was a big effort, but they finally managed to get it done in time before Australia Day of 2020. An official ceremony was to be held in Sydney, marking the historic event with an inaugural speech from Christine Mills, who was recently appointed and selected to be Australia’s first President. It was something that she’d never imagined would happen in her life time, and to be asked to become the nation’s first female head of state was an absolute honour. She was thrilled by the opportunity to serve her country in the highest office in all the land. Christine Mills was a distinguished woman of fifty-five. She was an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2014 to 2019. She was the first woman to have held the position, and was previously the Governor of New South Wales from 2008 to 2014. Christine Mills was appointed Governor of New South Wales in August 2008. Although concerns were raised by some over her time in the office, her five-year term was going to be extended until 2015. However, on 13 April 2014, it was announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that Christine Mills was to become the next Governor-General of Australia. The decision was generally well-received and on 5 August 2014 Mills was sworn in, succeeding Major General Michael Jeffery and became the first woman to hold the office. Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Christine Mills was raised in Katoomba with her family subsequently living in a number of country towns around Australia. She attended Macquarie University, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, becoming one of the first women accepted to the New South Wales Bar.
In 1968, Mills became the first woman appointed as a faculty member of the law school where she had studied, and in 1978 she joined the new National Women's Advisory Council. This was followed by appointment to a number of positions, including the first Director of the New South Wales Women's Legal Service, the New South Wales Director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner in 1988. Her services to the community saw her appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988, and a Companion of the Order of Australia and Dame of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 2003. In 2011, Elizabeth II invested Mills as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order at Government House. Christine was chosen because of her distinguished career and achievements. She was to give a speech at the Sydney Opera House to express her gratitude for being selected to be President. However, before the event, Christine was to officially sign the new Constitution under the Australian republic system at a separate ceremony which was to be held at the Admiralty House. The Admiralty House was previously the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia, but now it was to house the President of Australia. Christine Mills was on her way to Sydney.
She was on board the Australian Air Force Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner was purchased by the Australian Defence Force to serve as the VIP transport for the President and to replace the aging Boeing 737-700 which previously transported the Prime Minister of Australia. The jet was fitted out in a VIP configuration; it had a customised interior with a private lounge area for guests, it had a large conference room where the President could hold meetings with government officials as well as other leaders. The jet also had its own private suite for the President and spouse, which would be used for long-haul nonstop flights. To the rear of the plane was a passenger cabin for crew members and the President’s staff; there were enough seats to accommodate up to twenty-five people. The plane had two galleys capable of catering five-star restaurant meals, and it even had a medical bay, in case of mid-flight emergencies. The plane was basically the Australian equivalent of the United States Air Force One. Christine was being given a tour of the plane by an Air Force officer. He showed the President into her private office. Her long, slender, polished fingers trace the newly polished the mahogany desk. Her high-heeled shoes echo across the room as she, made her way to the large, leather chair behind the desk. She was quite pale as she was still taking in her surroundings. The tour was coming to an end and she was more than grateful to the officer. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Excellency?” asked the Air Force officer. Despite being the President, she was still referred to as Your Excellency.
“No, thank you Lieutenant. I appreciate the tour,” she said. They both shook hands. The officer opened the door and showed Christine in. It was a large spacious office with a corner desk and several porthole windows. She went over and sat down at the chair. A knock at the door startled her, but she relaxed some when she saw Joseph Parsons enter the room. Joe was the President’s Official Secretary; his role was to provide the President with the necessary support to enable her to carry out her constitutional, statutory, ceremonial and public duties. His duties as Official Secretary include the organisation of and advice relating to their duties, hospitality for official functions. Joe had been friends with the Mills family for the past twenty years and he’d been under the employ of Christine for ten of those years, working as her Executive Assistant while she was the Governor of New South Wales.
“Your Excellency…How are you feeling this morning?” he asked, as he closed the door. Christine took a sip of her coffee.
“I’m fine, Joe. Just feeling a bit overwhelmed about all of this,” she said, and Joe nodded. “I can understand that. It’s a big event,” he said.
“Is John going to be there?”
“Yes, he’s already at the residence,” said Christine. There was a brief pause. “What’s happening with the signing of the Constitution?” she asked.
“The Governors will be arriving to sign the document. You’ll also make a brief statement to the media about the signing,” he said.
“Good. I want to make sure that everything runs smoothly,” she said.
“Of course, and it will. The Australia Day festival is expected to be a complete success,” said Joe.
“Yes, I saw the news reports this morning,” she replied, as she took another sip of her coffee. She continued to read through her speech for the ceremony. There was a TV on in her office and it was showing a report on the upcoming Australia Day festival, and that hundreds of people were expected to show up for it. Australia Day was to be known as Independence Day.
6 AM.
Greg Carson and Nathaniel Manson were good friends. They had been friends since joining the Australian Army together ten years ago. Greg was in his early thirties, while Nathaniel, or as he was commonly referred to as Nate, was approaching forty. However, until recently, they’d left the military because they disagreed with the government’s decision to become a republic. There were quite a few people like Greg and Nate in the Armed Forces who shared the same feelings. Having left the army several months ago, they were both employed as mercenaries with an Australian defence contractor. Today, they’d been hired to carry out an important job. Although they were contracted by the defence contractor, the job was requested by a domestic terrorist group. The two were driving in a dark coloured transit van. Nate sat in the passenger seat and sipped on his Grande cappuccino from Starbucks, which he insisted on getting before leaving. Nate wasn’t a morning person, but after completing this morning’s assignment, he didn’t care if he lost a night’s sleep, because he was going to be receiving the biggest pay check ever. Greg was driving and they were just crossing the Iron Cove Bridge that led them into Balmain, a suburb of Sydney. Their destination was a storage unit in Balmain, on Grafton Lane. It was a privately-owned storage unit and Greg and Nate’s task was to pick up a large package from one of the units. Neither of them knew what was in the package, but all they knew was that it was dangerous, so they had to treat it with extreme care. Their lives depended on it; Nate took a sip of his coffee and looked over at Greg, who seemed to be annoyed. “Take it easy, bro,” said Nate, trying to cheer him up. “Have some coffee.”
“I’m out,” Greg replied, abruptly. He kept concentrating on his driving and changed lanes several times. “I still don’t know why you accepted this job.”
“Because you forget brother, you owe me big time,” said Nate. “Don’t worry, once we get this done, we’ll be rich bastards,” he said. Greg didn’t reply after that. He indicated and then slowed down as he turned onto Grafton Lane. There were not many cars on the road, considering it was after six o’clock. The sun was just starting to break through the horizon and the sky was glazed with a tint of orange and yellow. It was still dark so Greg kept the van’s lights on. They slowly drove down the narrow lane and as they got to the middle section, Greg stopped. He parked and put the vehicle into neutral, switching off the engine in the process. At that, both Greg and Nate got out. Nate switched on a torch and went over to the storage unit. It was a padlocked unit and he was given a key. Nate unlocked it and together, they pulled up the roller door. It was a medium sized storage unit, with several boxes and folding tables. For the most part, it was empty, except for a section at the end. Nate shone his torch in that direction and spotted several large rectangular shaped containers. The containers had military markings and writing on the sides. “That’s it!” said Nate. They went over to the containers and carefully opened the lids. As they looked inside each one, they were shocked by the contents. “Okay, let’s get these loaded onto the van,” said Nate. Carefully, they carried them out to the van. They loaded them into the back. It took them about ten minutes to load them. After it was done, they climbed into the front and Nate took out his phone to dial a number.
“Yes?” a voice answered.
“It’s me…We’ve got the weapons. We’re heading to the rendezvous point now,” said Nate.
“Good. Get there as soon as you can…Your fee will be wired to the usual account,” said the voice. Nate grinned and then the call disconnected.
8:15 AM.
The low hum of a coffee pot and the noise from the television broadcasting a news program that is showing the festivities for Australia Day is the only noise in a luxurious penthouse overlooking Darling Harbour. A cat is sitting on the kitchen counter, flipping its tail when a burly man dressed in slacks with a police badge attached to his belt, button-up shirt and tie enters. This, was Michael ‘Mick’ Greer; he was the Detective Chief Inspector, DCI for short, of the Serious Crimes Unit, or SCU. It was an organisation within the Australian Federal Police that conducted investigations of serious crimes, organised crime, and counter-terrorism. As the Detective Chief Inspector, Mick Greer was the head of the unit, and he reported to his boss, the Chief Superintendent, Anna Mackenzie. He’d been awake since the early hours of the morning, getting ready for a busy day at work. Today was going to be especially busy, because the AFP was providing security for the upcoming Independence Day festival. The AFP had been working with ASIO as they suspected that there could be the possibility of a terrorist attack on the festival. Mick Greer lived in a penthouse apartment in Sydney’s Pyrmont. It was an expensive looking apartment with a contemporary design and decor`.
He was in the kitchen enjoying a nice cup of coffee and watching the news. It was showing a report on the Independence Day festival, stating that it was to be the biggest event in Australian history. “Hungry Holmes?” he asked, the cat. He scratched the cat, Holmes’ head as he reached for the cat’s food bowl and poured him some food. At the coffee machine’s beep, Mick poured himself a cup. He wasn’t the type to talk to a cat with his tough demeanour, but Holmes was the only companion around right now. “It’s quiet right now old boy, but will get a bit noisy with fireworks. People celebrating. Will have to find a safe spot for you to hide,” he continued. As he stood there sipping his coffee, his phone started ringing. He checked to see who it was calling. “Mick Greer,” he answered. He looked up at the TV to see an aerial shot of the Opera House. “Alright, I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he said, and hung up. He stood there and looked at the TV. “Today is going to be a long day.” He grabbed his suit jacket and headed to the door.
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